Chapter 767: The Expected Betrayal
"I want to visit the chief of the dwarfs, can I?" Devitt said solemnly to the little girl.
"Grandpa?" the little girl stared at him and asked, "Why are you looking for the clan chief?"
"I think the dwarfs must have fallen into the trap of the conspirators on this island." Devitt replied.
The little girl looked at his sincere face and seemed to have sensed the seriousness of the matter. She nodded and said, "Then come with me."
Then, the little girl led them to the secret pa.s.sage that she had taken when she came.
Seeing the door of the secret pa.s.sage open, the soldiers cried out in surprise.
"I didn"t see it at all." a soldier said in surprise. The door was hidden on the rock wall of the volcano, and its surface was almost the same as the surrounding rocks. It was impossible to recognize it based on the first impression.
The little girl led the soldiers through the secret pa.s.sage and arrived at another scenic spot in the volcano.
Exquisite buildings were lined up side by side. It was more lively the place just now.
The moment Abel stepped into this place, he felt that the flow of the elements in his body became smoother. It was extremely inconceivable.
"Most of us are currently in a state of slumber. Please do not make too much noise while you are here." the little girl instructed in a low voice. "I will go wake up the chief."
After saying this, the little girl disappeared into the buildings.
Devitt organized everyone to keep quiet. Claremont and Abel stood in their original positions without saying a word. From time to time, they would raise their wrists to look at the direction of the hour hand.
After about ten minutes, the little girl appeared in front of everyone again.
"The clan chief is waiting for you up there. Follow me." the little girl said.
Devitt hesitated for a moment before commanding the soldiers to stay in their original positions and rest. He, Claremont, and Abel followed the little girl"s footsteps. They went around the houses and headed towards the building in the center of the residential area.
The little girl didn"t say a word along the way.
After bringing the three of them to a room on the second floor, she left quietly.
Devitt cast his gaze towards the old dwarf who was sitting on the seat of honor and waiting for them.
"h.e.l.lo, chief of the dwarf race." Devitt, as the representative of the human race, stepped forward and greeted them.
Abel followed behind him and bowed to the chief of the dwarf race.
"h.e.l.lo." the chief"s hair had already turned white, and there were some age spots on his face. However, his voice didn"t sound like it came from someone his age. "My little niece has already introduced your ident.i.ties to me. There"s no need to be formal since we know your origins, it"s fine. Please take a seat."
"Thank you." Devitt replied and found a chair to sit down.
The other two also sat down.
"I heard that the dwarfs" recent supply and demand are all handled by the leader of the island?" Devitt asked first.
"Yes." the clan chief replied. "After all, the dwarfs have entered a dormant period. Basically, there won"t be any personnel moving around."
"But at the same time, the news of the disappearance of all your clansmen has spread overseas, even to the Elf Kingdom." Devitt continued.
"Eh?" the chief"s eyes widened in surprise.
Although Klidoff had previously told him that he would spread some misleading rumors to the edge of the island. But just the fact that it had spread overseas was already very unusual.
"We are here to look for clues about your kingdom"s disappearance. After all, both Caradia Empire and Elf Kingdom owe a debt of grat.i.tude to the dwarven craftsmen." Devitt"s introduction continued, "I wonder if that fake town outside of this place was the idea of that Klidoff?"
"Yes." the clan chief nodded.
"No one knew that the dwarf race had not gone missing but had instead gone into hiding. The first batch of soldiers we sent found gnomes" tools in that place. Don"t you think that all of this is too much of a coincidence?"
"What do you mean?" the clan chief"s expression had already become somewhat gloomy.
"On the surface, now that the dwarf race has been framed for murdering the dragon race guards, the dwarf race has disappeared, and the gnome race is in chaos. Moreover, the gnomes have been accused of "killing the dwarf race". The three races are in grave danger." Devitt concluded.
"Klidoff, that b*stard is simply too detestable!" the dwarf clan chief roared.
"Actually, we still have chance. As long as you represent the dwarfs and clarify everything in front of the world, the scheme of Klidoff and the other helpers behind the scenes will fall apart." Claremont said.
"Hmph." the chief snorted angrily. "Alright, I"ll follow you out. I want to see Klidoff"s sorry face."
"Chief, let"s leave as soon as possible." Abel saw the situation and suggested, "The situation outside is unpredictable. The earlier we leave, the earlier we can resolve all of this."
"Alright!" the dwarf clan chief agreed.
The few of them walked out of the room, but suddenly heard the alarm outside. The floor of the corridor shook as well.
"What happened?" Devitt looked out of the window and asked.
"Someone activated the vibration device in the town." the chief answered, "Let"s go to the bas.e.m.e.nt to take a look."
"Chief! We have to escape from here now!" Claremont advised.
"No, this vibration device is used to destroy the entire village. And only the dwarves can use it. I want to see which traitor did this." the chief was so angry that he trembled.
"We have to escape first. We can"t let you take this risk." Devitt also said, "Our soldiers have already begun to wake up the dwarf residents in the house. We have to quickly meet up with them."
Just when the two sides were in a dispute, a familiar voice made them stop talking.
"Grandpa, don"t look for me. I"m here."
The little girl who led the way just now stood in the middle of the hall on the first floor and said to the four people standing on the stairs with a smile.
"You!" the clan chief took a deep breath and shouted.
Devitt and the others were also frozen on the spot. The expression on the little girl"s face made them almost unable to recognize her.
"You can"t get out. All the exits have been sealed by me." the little girl continued to answer quietly.
"Why did you do all this!!" the chief said bitterly.
"To live in this world with dignity! To not be chased away like rats in the gutter." the little girl roared angrily.
This sentence made Devitt recall the intelligence he had obtained in the Elf Kingdom: the reason why the dwarves moved to the island was mainly because the original land had been invaded by the beastman force.