In the Brass Palace, the fire dwarves played brass instruments, and the officers and soldiers of the empire drank freely.
"His Majesty Cassius is victorious!"
"The Great Red Dragon!"
"Invincible!"
There seemed to be a warm atmosphere everywhere, filled with the fragrance of wine and roasted meat. The fire dwarves and the imperial soldiers were singing and dancing to celebrate the defeat of their common enemy, the efreeti.
The fire dwarf noble Shalin accompanied Cassius, raised his wine glass, and whispered:
"Your Majesty Cassius, you destroyed half of the pig iron city and killed the emir of the efreeti. Your power really makes me sigh."
"Just."
Shalin hesitated for a moment, showed a wry smile, and then continued: "You are doing too well, and I am afraid it will attract the attention of the great sultan of the fire giant."
Cassius also raised his glass, put it to his lips and took a sip, then responded with a smile: "Your Excellency Shalin, I am not afraid of him."
"As long as the Sultan doesn't take action himself, no one can defeat me."
"The Holy Flame Prince is still wandering on the earth. The Great Sultan will not risk being killed to make an enemy of me for a little emir."
"Since you mentioned it, let me just say it"
Cassius put down his wine glass and looked down at the fire dwarf with his pale golden eyes, his eyes full of meaning: "The real danger is you and your brass fortress."
Shalin's pupils shrank sharply, and the flames above his head became a little weaker.
"The emir sent by the Efreet Sultan is dead. This damages his majesty, but he has no way to retaliate against me."
"So. Who will be the outlet for the Sultan's anger?"
"You mean"
Shalin's hand holding the scepter trembled slightly, and his tone was hesitant.
"The Brass Fortress."
Cassius's tone was particularly certain.
"You know, the empire's army is stationed in the Brass Bastion, and we have also resisted the army sent by the elf."
"The Empire can evacuate from the Fire Elemental Plane at any time, but you can't. The Brass Fortress can't escape, and the Fire Dwarves can't leave their home."
"Your Excellency Shalin, I really can't bear to see the fire dwarves being enslaved, so I came here to remind you."
"It's a pity that I didn't kill all the fire giants at that time, otherwise the news would not have reached the ears of the great sultan."
Cassius looked into the fire dwarf's eyes, shook his head slightly, and sighed with a "sad" expression.
With the blessing of charisma and glib words, every word he said seemed so credible.
"This, this"
The body made of Sarin brass trembled slightly, as if he saw a future scene where the fortress was breached and the fire dwarves were enslaved and whipped.
In fact, Salin had already vaguely guessed this possibility, but he still felt frightened when he heard the other party say it himself.
In fact, in the elemental plane of fire, the number of fire dwarves enslaved by the efreet far outnumbers the free fire dwarves.
But Cassius asked a seemingly irrelevant question.
"Lord Shalin, how many fire dwarves were there in the Brass Fortress a thousand years ago?"
Salin was a little confused, but after thinking for a moment, he answered truthfully: "About four thousand."
The casting process limits the growth rate of the population, so fire dwarves are quite rare. There are a lot of fire dwarves here.
Cassius continued to ask:
"What now? How many fire dwarves are in the Brass Bastion now?"
"Three thousand seven hundred and forty-one."
Salin replied without thinking.
Cassius pretended to be confused and said: "You fire dwarves have a long lifespan. Haven't you had any new people born in the past thousand years?" "Of course you have, it's just."
Shalin looked bitter and continued: "The fire djinn will send raiders every once in a while to kidnap my people."
Cassius spoke the cruel truth in a calm tone: "So, Lord Salin."
"The efreets allow the Brass Citadel to exist only because you can provide them with efreet slaves."
Shalin couldn't help but retort: "The efreets once tried to enslave our entire clan, but they failed!"
"Because after you were enslaved, you were no longer willing to create new populations, right?"
Cassius took a sip of his wine and continued: "They gave up the slavery plan because they wanted a steady stream of slaves."
He chuckled.
"Sir Sarin, do you know that there is a plant called leek in the material world? Every time a human farmer waits for it to grow, he will harvest it, so that he can continue to get food."
The fire dwarf noble's beard kept trembling. He didn't want to believe it from the bottom of his heart, but what the other party stated was extremely close to reality.
"And now."
"Do you think they will allow the Brass Fortress to exist under the wrath of the Great Sultan?"
Cassius's voice was like thunder and lightning, every word struck Shalin's heart, breaking down his psychological defense.
Sha Lin was silent for a long time before he spoke softly.
"Then Your Majesty Cassius, what should we do?"
An imperceptible smile suddenly appeared on Cassius's face, and he knew that his goal was achieved.
As long as the fire dwarf nobles are persuaded, everything else will fall into place.
"The Ember Empire."
Cassius said the name lightly.
"You mean"
The fire dwarf immediately lowered his head in thought, looking hesitant, but he finally raised his head and gritted his teeth.
Shalin looked at Cassius nervously and said cautiously: "If this is the case, I can only thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty Cassius."
"Please allow me to refuse. Fire dwarves will not become anyone's dependents or slaves. This was the case thousands of years ago, and it will still be the case thousands of years later."
At the end of the sentence, the flames on his head were swaying and trembling, but his tone was quite firm.
Fire dwarves have always been stubborn, and few can change their decisions.
"Crack!"
"Bold!"
Upon hearing this, Serkan, the half-red dragon man who had been listening nearby, stood up and cursed loudly.
"Your Majesty has given the fire dwarves such a precious opportunity, but you still don't know how to cherish it!"
"How dare you refuse His Majesty Cassius! You are making an enemy of us!"
Suddenly, all the imperial officers and soldiers in the hall stood up, pointed their rifles at the fire dwarves, and looked hostile.
"What do you want to do?"
"Fire dwarves will never be slaves!"
The expressions of the fire dwarves also became angry. They picked up the copper hammers and iron shields on the ground and confronted the soldiers of the empire.
The air in the hall seemed to be filled with the smell of gunpowder. In such a situation, a little spark would explode.
But Cassius waved his hand and ordered in a calm tone: "What are you doing? Put down your guns."
Upon hearing the emperor's order, the officers and soldiers of the empire quickly put down their firearms.
He patted the fire dwarf nobleman's shoulder nonchalantly and said with a smile: "Your Excellency Shalin, I think you have misunderstood."
"What I mean is that our Ember Empire can become a staunch ally of the Fire Dwarf city-state." (End of Chapter)