At what the Tigerman said, the Dwarf couldn't hide his frown anymore.
Sothing was definitely off here.
Initially, he thought that the Tigerman made so kind of mistake to be taking the resources from this forest, within the Dwarven's territory. A mistake that is not completely out of place as this part of the forest was at the edge of their territory, and wasn't touched by the power of the Dwarf King's weapon, the War Maul of Glacia.
No snow covered the ground and trees of the forest.
Due to that, the Dwarf found it quite logical that the Tigerman might made a mistake.
But now he realized that this group of Tigerman was aware.
Obviously, this group of Tigerman knew that this forest was the Dwarven's territory, but they didn't care and decided to steal the resources of the forest for themselves. To make matters worse, the red-colored Tigerman even announced that this was his territory.
Such a bold act is obviously an offensive challenge to the Dwarven's power.
"Ye jestin' with now, ain't ye?" He asked raspingly.
Upon hearing this, the red-colored Tigerman's smile stretched even wider, he clearly ant what he said and didn't intend to take it back despite offending the Dwarf, "What? What can you even do at this mont?"
After saying that, the red-colored Tigerman laughed, taking the Dwarf as nothing but a joke.
He scoffed in ridicule before pivoting around and walking away.
Ignoring the Dwarf who was completely rooted on his spot, the red-colored Tigerman told the other Tigerman to continue chopping down the trees. All of them resud what they were doing, taking down the trees and loading them into their own wagons.
Due to the severity of the situation, the news spread like wildfire.
Soon enough, the news reached Huvuki and the other high-standing Dwarves around him.
"I knew from the start, alignin' with them Tigern be a blunder!"
"We've been scrappin' since our first stirrin' in this new era, and trustin' 'em is like trustin' a dragon with yer gold!"
"Aye, I'm with ye on that."
"I say we muster our forces and drive 'em out of our lands. If it cos to blows, we report straight to Lord Rex, and he'll back our play, mark my words!"
A eting was being held to talk over the situation.
Huvuki sat on the side, attentively absorbing the voices of the other Dwarves expressing their thoughts. In that mont, his own mind also delved into the predicant. For him, it was obvious that the root of the problem seed unmistakably tied to the reawakening of the older generations of the Tigerman race.
Judging from the description of the leading Tigerman, he's from the older generations.
It explains why he was aggressive and confident.
Despite the clear fact that the Tigerman race was asking for trouble, Huvuki couldn't do anything rash right now. Compared to the Tigerman, the Dwarves were in a severely bad situation as they had no ancestors anymore.
All of their ancestors were wiped out in the past.
Because of that, they have a devastating military disadvantage against the Tigerman.
Even though they were only taking a small portion of the resources that were supposed to belong to the Dwarven Kingdom, the amount would only grow for now. The Tigerman would keep on becoming bolder to instigate the Dwarven Kingdom.
Huvuki knew that they were waiting for him to make a mistake and start a fight.
'I can't let that happen...' He pondered with a sigh.
While he was dwelling inside his mind about the situation, the discussion continued.
"I cast vote to rally our forces and boot 'em out! This be downright intolerable!"
"Nay, hold yer axe, friend. Let's mull it over. What might've tickled their whiskers to stir at this very mont?"
"Reason, ye say? Those scoundrels need no rhy nor reason!"
"Don't be too quick on the draw, Boboul. There's gotta be a cause for stirrin' trouble in ours, an allied hall. Them Tigern ain't daft; they know the Silverstar Pack won't stomach such antics. Sothin' must've stirred the pot, and we best find out before we swing our hamrs."
Upon hearing this, Huvuki turned to the Dwarf on his right who said that with widened eyes.
He ca to a sudden realization.
Even the Dwarf was surprised to see Huvuki was looking at him with that kind of look, but he knew that it seed Huvuki had deciphered what made the Tigerman do that. "I know why the Tigerman is doing this, it's because Lord Rex was absent right now..."
A couple of days ago, after defeating the Rastrikan Demons, Rex got so bad news.
Just as he arrived at the Dwarven Kingdom, he was forced to hurry back.
Gelmar has sent a ssage through a Dwarf to report that an unexpected visitor ca to Dargena City, Edward. He was evidently shaken by the news and even needed ti to process what he had heard.
Subsequently, a lot of Dwarves on the walls saw what was happening.
As the onlookers, they overheard the conversation between Rex and the others about this.
From that conversation, they gleaned that Rex anticipated his unforeseen departure, and even entrusted the city's leadership to Evelyn and Adhara while elevating the entire city to the extre of high alert.
The severity of the situation must have prompted such asures.
Due to that very reason, it easily beca the hottest topic among the Dwarves recently.
Everyone was talking about it.
Countless assumptions about what was happening to Dargena City ca and made the topic even more popular within the Dwarven Kingdom. So Tigern still remain within the Kingdom as they were the reinforcent sent to help them fend against the attack from the Rastrikan Demons.
Naturally, these Tigern were exposed to the information.
By now, the topic of Rex's conversation must already spread in the Tigerman Kingdom.
It would be weird if the topic didn't spread.
"Er... but what does this have to do with Lord Rex being absent?" A Dwarf asked.
He doesn't seem to follow what Huvuki is saying.
Huvuki turned to that Dwarf with a clear glint in his eyes, he elaborated with a question" Tell , Kegret, do you know how the Tigerman was converted into an ally by the Silverstar Pack despite they were at first, loyal to the higher-rank races?"
Upon hearing this, Hegret nodded.
Most Dwarves knew of this story as they were at war against the Tigerman back then.
"I heard their King laid down his life, a noble sacrifice for his people's survival" He replied.
"Yes, that's right!" Huvuki pointed at the Dward, his eyes sparking clarity. "Compared to our Kingdom, which essentially used the Silverstar Pack as a shelter from the Rastrikan Demons, we received no punishnt. If that's the case, then how would that make the Tigerman feel?"
Attentively listening to Huvuki's explanation, the other Dwarves were muted instantly.
Of course, the answer was clear.
Compared to the Tigerman race that needed to sacrifice their own King to be spared, the Dwarven Kingdom paid no price. Regardless of the other factors, the Tigerman would definitely feel bitter about this.
Like salt to a wound, they must've felt even more bitter as they were also forced to help.
It would be natural for them to say that this is unfair.
When their older generations awaken, they must learn of this particular information.
All of them must be enraged, thus, this situation happened.
"Unless I miss my guess, with Lord Rex not in the picture, dealing with an unprecedented situation, the Tigerman would take advantage of this mont to expand and take anything they could from us, to make it even" Huvuki continued, his voice firm and fixed.
Such a thing can happen with the motivation the Tigerman has.
Upon hearing this, Boboul slamd his hamr to the ground angrily, "Blasphemous!"
Just listening to Huvuki's conclusion made his blood boil in fury.
"Even if Lord Rex couldn't butt in, them other Silverstar Pack folks still be standin' strong. If we spill the beans to Lady Adhara or mayhaps Lady Evelyn, they'll be bound by honor to put a halt to it, or be punished once more!" Hester added, thinking the matter thoroughly.
However, Huvuki shook his head, denying the possibility of that resolution.
It sounded plausible, but it's not.
Gazing at the empty space before him with a sigh, Huvuki replied, "Unfortunately, both Lady Adhara and Lady Evelyn don't have enough of a presence to make that happen. Had any of them intervened, the Tigerman would only deny the accusation or even find ways to argue that what they were doing was not wrong"
"Maybe Sir Flunra can help, but he's not the type to ddle" He added dejectedly.
As he said that, Huvuki massaged his forehead.
He knew that the matters needed to be handled now, as even if Rex eventually ca back and learned about the situation, he wouldn't be able to do anything if the Tigerman had already taken their territory and turned it into theirs.
But he couldn't think of anything aside from fighting the Tigerman.
It's a headache for him.
'Even so, I still think informing Lady Adhara or Lady Evelyn would be a great initial move. I just hope that one of them would be able to sohow suppress the Tigerman' Huvuki pondered while shaking his head.
...
anwhile, back to Dargena City.
Completely oblivious to what was happening to the other allied Kingdoms, Flunra was still attempting to decipher the construct that Kyran drew. He wanted to take care of this fast before he could resu what he needed to do.
On the other hand, Prof. K was taking a step back, leaning on the walls in contemplation.
He was looking at the construct from a further view.
Even though the two tried their best, the construct that they suspected to be a map was very much impossible to crack. Nothing made sense about it, there was absolutely no clue that could help them in knowing the location of the map.
Prof. K tried to put the map of the surroundings right beside it, but it was still futile.
One thing that they could decipher was a tiara at the center.
After hours of fruitless attempts to decipher the construct, Prof. K began to question their assumption and approach. He started to second guess. 'If it were a map, we should have identified at least one trademark by now. What if this construct serves a purpose other than being a map?"
Reckoning the possibility of the construct not being a map, Prof. K tried another approach.
Focusing on one assumption wouldn't get them anywhere.
Kneeling beside the construct, he laid his hand on the tiara and imbued his energy into it.
Swish...
Before the watchful eyes of onlookers, Prof. K's energy radiated through the tiara, only to swiftly dim once more. Despite his efforts to infuse more energy, it beca apparent that there was little chance of extracting further results.
Not that he wasn't stronger, but it seems the construct is denying him.
Glancing at Flunra with a peculiar look, Flunra nodded and also tried to do the sa thing.
Surprisingly, Flunra's energy almost lights up the entire tiara before it dims again.
Prof. K was about to continue with his attempts, reaching the epiphany of trial and error, but the sensation of infusing the tiara with his energy made Flunra's frown deepen. 'It's reacting to my energy, I almost complete it, but I can't. I thought this was not a formation or array, but it seems it was'
Looking at the construct in a new light, Flunra's eyes manage to spot so shapes.
On the right and left side of the construct to be exact.
Flunra squinted his eyes for a brief mont before he eventually ca to a realization, the shape was that of a small snowflake and an inverted crescent moon. It was only then that he realized that this was the seal of the Ice and Snow Full Moon.
Precisely, the seal of the Ice and Snow Full Moon.
'So that's what happened to Kyran, I should've known from the start' He mused inwardly.
Contrary to before, Flunra quickly activated his Banished Dark Moon King Mark which quickly boosted his power to an insurmountable degree. He garnered most of his power before he tried to infuse the construct with his energy once again.
Shiiing!
Just as he anticipated, the entire construct lights up and activates.
It turned into a portal in an instant.
An item ca from its center which made Flunra smile in scorn, knowing what this ant.
"So the answer is the Princess, you cheap Lunirich God"
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