The Dwarven Crafter

by Kugane Maruyama

  But someone did come out of the city.

  It was a figure in red armor and another figure with dark skin, clearly not dwarves.

  Going by reports from the people who had witnessed the meeting between the strangers and the dragons out in front of the city, there should have been two others, but they were nowhere to be seen. Were they gathering up the treasure, and these two were simply buying time for them?

  “Just to be sure, that’s not a golem, right?”

  “No, the golems weren’t like that.”

  According to Yoozu, the golems were huge and wore black armor. This one in red armor is something different. Ah, but…

  We should probably assume that it might be another type of golem. But why has it marched out here against an army tens of thousands strong? It can’t be that it’s meeting us head-on because it’s confident it can wipe us out…right? No, no, that’s impossible no matter how powerful it is.

  Riyuro shook his head to clear away the horrific image from his mind.

  True, he was shocked that they created this strange atmosphere, and they seemed unimaginably strong. The dragons had even submitted without a fight, so their power had to be immense.

  But the kuagoa had assembled over sixty thousand warriors. This wasn’t a force on the scale of hundreds or thousands. There was no way they could put up a proper fight against numbers like these.

  But if this was a golem, maybe it made more sense.

  Golems didn’t fatigue like living things. Since golems could fight on forever, if this one was powerful enough to kill Riyuro, then theoretically, it would be able to kill them all.

  Theoretically, of course.

  If one in every few kuagoa was lucky enough to scrape it, thousands of minor injuries would eventually add up to cause enough damage to defeat it.

  There was strength in numbers. These sixty thousand kuagoa could have even taken down the dragon king in a straight land battle.

  “I’m going to talk to them. You guys stand by here. If I get killed…well, then you can do whatever you want.”

  “It’s too dangerous!” An aide stated the obvious.

  “…It’s impossible to discuss things with a golem, so I guess I’ll be addressing the dark one. I just need to find out what they’re after.”

  Riyuro was committed to attempting a dialogue no matter what anyone else said.

  He had no doubt their opponents were powerful. If he could hear them out and negotiate, he was fine paying them. If they were going to drive away the dragon royalty, he had no problem paying respects to them instead of the dragons. Or if they would side with the kuagoa, he was happy to offer compensation better than whatever the dwarves had promised.

  “No one come with me. If we go in a group, it could start a battle.” With that last comment to his aides, Riyuro set off.

  Since the ranks parted, the other side seemed to realize he was approaching. They stopped moving and observed him.

  “Sorry for the wait.”

  The first thing he said caused the other two to exchange glances.

  Riyuro looked around. No, they weren’t there. The other two who had confronted the dragons—the dwarf and the one wearing a skull helmet—were nowhere to be found.

  “Hmm? Who are you?”

  It was the little one with dark skin who spoke.

  Was that a sign the red one really was a golem? It seemed like a humanoid made larger and with whiter skin, so maybe it was one? But observing it with sidelong glances, he somehow had the feeling it was a crafted object, so he had no idea what its true identity was.

  “I’m Pe Riyuro, the clan king of the kuagoa of this region. Who the h—who are you?”

  “We’re here with a great king who ordered us to come conquer you.”

  It can talk!

  The one in the red armor answered. He had heard that golems couldn’t talk, so it must not have been a golem after all.

  Riyuro suppressed his surprise and answered, “Conquer?”

  “Yes. Our king came here to take over. Now, get on your knees and bow your head.”

  All right, what should I do? Riyuro thought as fast as he could.

  He didn’t really object to bowing his head and welcoming their new ruler. He was fine growing his influence beneath the conqueror and rising up later.

  The issue was whether it would be okay to agree to enter under someone’s rule without knowing their strength. Apparently, a dragon had bowed to him, but that dragon hadn’t been the dragonlord. What if after agreeing to be ruled, he was ordered to fight the dragonlord?

  “…I believe there were two others with you. Where are they now?”

  “There’s no need for you to know. The only words you’re allowed to speak right now are ‘We accept your rule’ or ‘We decline.’”

  It seemed like they weren’t about to disclose any information. In which case he needed to investigate whether they really intended to fight. Perhaps their confident attitude was mere bravado. And he had no idea how strong they were.

  “You say you are conquering us, but can you try to understand how it would be extremely difficult to accept your rule without knowing how powerful you are?”

  The implication was that if they would reveal the extent of their power, the kuagoa would submit. But the pair looked at each other and shrugged.

  “I see. If you don’t accept, our orders are to cull your numbers and subjugate you by force. We’ll fight a deadly battle until there are four thousand males, four thousand females, and two thousand children remaining. You probably know best which of your people are most valuable, right?”

  “Once there are only ten thousand left, you’ll all be taken to the Nation of Darkness.”

  For a moment, the clan king was overcome by fear.

  Not at the cruelty of their words but because it had been declared in such a matter-of-fact tone with no trace of arrogance.

  These two had no doubts it was possible.

  Yes.

  These two thought it was perfectly natural that they should be able to take on all sixty thousand of the kuagoa soldiers on their own.

  Are they mad? Or overly confident? Or…

  Riyuro had no idea how to respond to their unprecedented attitude.

  There was no way the kuagoa could accept whatever outrageous orders these people would have without a single fight.

  Perhaps sensing his hostility, the pair turned to each other, and their expressions warped.

  Dwarves were covered in hair, at least, so they were easier to identify with. These two had hair only on the tops of their heads, so he couldn’t quite comprehend their expressions. The racial barrier was thick.

  “P-please wa—” He couldn’t get out the rest of his Please wait.

  “Okay, so we’ll go ahead and start decreasing your population now. Don’t even think about handing your outfit off to someone else.”

  Kuagoa didn’t have a habit of wearing clothes. They already had hair covering their whole body.

  But the king had a king’s authority, and there needed to be some easy way to make that understood. For that reason, Riyuro wore clothes as well as a crown he had the dwarves make as the symbol of the clan king. He also figured that if he gave the outfit to someone else to act as his double, someone from a different race wouldn’t notice.

  It was clear they had seen through that ploy and were warning him against trying.

  Certainly, killing the king was the simplest victory condition. But then, why hadn’t they done that yet?

  No, that’s not it. There must be another reason… Could it be…? Agh, that’s it. It’s not so they can kill me. It’s so they don’t accidentally kill me!

  The racial barrier was thick. They must have been saying, in a patronizing manner, that as long as he was wearing the clothes, they would be able to tell it was him, so they would spare him.

  “Will you go back over there now? If they move toward us, we’ll start, so before that happens, we’d appreciate it if you’d select
who you want to survive.”

  “Yes, go on back.”

  They waved at him to go away. They didn’t even seem like they were interested in negotiating anymore.

  This was so far beyond anything he had expected.

  I’m saying we’re willing to yield, but they won’t compromise at all? If they’re not willing to do that much, then…do they really find our lives to be of so little value?

  Their reply made Riyuro feel so helpless that he found himself desperate to suppress his fear.

  There’s no way… They can’t possibly bring these sixty thousand soldiers down to ten thousand… Oh. That must be it. They saw our army, and it drove them insane!

  Common sense said that had to be the answer. Even a dragon wouldn’t be able to decrease these numbers so—

  At that moment, it dawned on him.

  Maybe they’ll fly, attack from the air, then pull away!

  If they fought like dragons, things would get difficult.

  Gathering his army in such a large, open area would backfire on him.

  Would it be better to send everyone back to the residential zone?

  That would be dangerous. If the enemy had the power to destroy buildings, a great deal of chaos would befall their homes. Yes, this was the only battlefield Riyuro could fathom.

  His aides gathered around him when he returned to his army.

  “Was it a golem…? Is something wrong? You seem unwell.”

  It was likely the fear that pair had brought out was bleeding into his expression. He rubbed his face and issued orders.

  “Yeah… For now, assemble the blue and red kuagoa.”

  “A team of bodyguards?”

  “Not just them—all the heroes from each tribe.”

  •

  Riyuro let out a brave howl. It was a war cry with a special power he had acquired when he became the chief clan king who ruled over all. Seeing more than ten thousand warriors charging toward the enemy was truly a sight to behold. But the result was too horrific to watch. They crashed against an invisible wall like a wave.

  What went spraying, however, wasn’t water droplets but kuagoa—or what used to be kuagoa. A dragon or a frost giant might have been able to do that. But their opponent this time was smaller than they were.

  “They went flying…,” one of the aides murmured in shock.

  It wasn’t a metaphor. The attacking kuagoa really did go flying. And not one by one. Dozens were blown away at a time.

  The fleshy remains of their bodies rained down over their comrades. The soldiers doused in sticky bits of gore paid no mind and charged ahead, only to be splattered as scraps of flesh on the ones behind them. It was a truly nightmarish scene.

  The fact that for some reason it seemed like there were no airborne droplets of blood only made it more surreal.

  “Wh-wh-what is that thing?!”

  Riyuro didn’t have the energy to answer his aide’s scream. But his thoughts overflowed and became words on their own. “I didn’t think it would be so…”

  “My king! What in the world is that thing?! The golem I saw doesn’t even compare!”

  With each attack, the charging kuagoa all hurtled away. It wasn’t even a fight anymore. It wasn’t even a massacre. This was processing. The fellow kuagoa he had gathered for maximum power were being disposed of as unnecessary chaff.

  “I—I think our only choice is to run!”

  “To where?” Riyuro snapped at his panicking aide. “Where are we supposed to escape to inside this strange space? They said they’re going to kill us until there are only ten thousand left!”

  The aides were speechless.

  Having witnessed that overwhelming—that monstrous power, they knew it was neither an empty threat nor a joke. It was hard to believe, but they had no choice: Only ten thousand of their sixty thousand people would be allowed to live.

  He wondered if it would be possible to beg for a pardon even now, but there wasn’t any warmth in that pair’s eyes. Compared to them, the dragonlord’s eyes had been overflowing with kindness.

  I’m sure they won’t change their minds.

  “This can’t be happening! My king! What is that thing?! What have the dwarves enlisted?”

  “Why is that little runt so powerful…?”

  The aide’s murmur made Riyuro realize something. “Maybe the thing in red is another dwarven weapon? When they realized their golems were defeated, they sent in something more powerful.”

  “…Does that mean if we defeat this, something even more powerful will show up?”

  In the air filled with the shrieks of the soldiers, only Riyuro’s immediate area fell abruptly silent.

  “We should have the soldiers withd—”

  “No! Have them fight! We have no other option! No matter how powerful that thing is, it must get tired at some point. We’ll wait until it can’t swing its weapon any longer and then go negotiate again. We just need a bit more of a compromise.”

  “I—I see. But…will that thing really get tired?”

  Riyuro had been thinking the same thing in a corner of his mind. But…

  “All living beings do. It certainly has greater physical capabilities than we do, but it will get exhausted at some point. We have to make that thing keep swinging its weapon until then…! It might even get sick of killing before it gets tired and decide to talk to us again.” The clan king was forced to say the thing he didn’t want to say. “Besides, we can’t fight against that thing and win! Not a monster like that!”

  There was no chance that the soldiers would suffer a mental break and flee. Riyuro’s battle cry turned his subordinates into fearless warriors. Similar to a Berserker’s Berserk skill, it boosted attack power in exchange for lowering defense. And most importantly, it granted perfect resistance to all types of fear. The fact that those affected would follow the clan king’s orders no matter how risky could be considered both a pro and a con.

  As the soldiers continued their charge without so much as looking back, it took almost no time for the large force’s numbers to dwindle.

  By then, no one had the wherewithal to open their mouths.

  There was no one who wasn’t completely discouraged by this massive disaster, even more so because it was being committed by a single person.

  No, there was one exception.

  That one—Riyuro—mustered the last of his courage.

  “Chosen heroes!”

  There was no roar.

  He was looking at the red and blue kuagoa with special powers who had been gathered, the team made up of the strongest members of each clan.

  The reason no one responded was that they were all watching the figure in red armor with despair in their eyes.

  They probably felt like winning was impossible. When they had first come together, there had been more of a twinkle in their eyes. But now all the light was gone, and their gazes seemed dead.

  To avoid lowering their defenses, he hadn’t made them into berserkers, but maybe he should have.

  The king raised his voice to see if he could rouse them even a little bit. “You all are our most powerful weapons! Our opponent has killed many of us, so it must be incredibly exhausted! If anyone can show this thing some pain, it’s you lot!”

  He said it was incredibly exhausted, but there was no sign of that. The figure in red armor was still sending dismembered kuagoa attackers flying as if it didn’t feel even the slightest fatigue, swinging its strange spear-like weapon unhindered.

  “Yes! As long as that thing is a living being, it must be getting tired! You can defeat it! Go, heroes!” He roared at them, practically begging, and sent them off.

  Then he instructed the other soldiers to let them through to charge the enemy in red armor. Then the heroes attacked it and…

  Riyuro slowly closed his eyes.

  “Oh, my king. My great king…”

  When his aide spoke, he opened his eyes.

  “You…you don’t have to say anything. I know. I…I saw
it, too.”

  Nothing—not a single thing—had changed.

  Just like the rank-and-file soldiers, the chosen heroes were sent flying as chunks of meat. And it had taken only an instant. The heroes met the same end as all the others.

  “…What in the world…? What could this be…?”

  There was nothing else Riyuro could say. He had no idea what the figure in red armor was, but he knew for sure that it was stronger than a dragon.

  Riyuro no longer had the will to do anything. If he just waited silently, eventually their opponents’ wishes would come to pass.

  “…They said two thousand children. Make the selection.”

  “My king…”

  “…There’s nothing else we can do. If ten thousand survive, then…we should…we should have a chance to rebuild in the future.”

  No one said anything in reply—because they all understood.

  This was the only option they had.

  Riyuro helplessly hung his head. He felt like he had been walking down a safe path only to find himself ambushed by a monster. “What’s the Nation of Darkness anyway? What does it have to do with the dwarves? Someone please explain…,” he murmured from the bottom of his heart.

  But though it made him feel sick, he knew the horror in front of him was only a taste of the tragedy to come.

  Suddenly, he noticed the basket his attendant was carrying. The basket of lizards he had been eating. He knew this was no time for a snack, but the stress made him reach out. He had an energetically wriggling lizard clenched in his hand and was about to bite its head off when a sharp pain in his stomach doubled him over.

  There was no way they would win against the absolute power that would conquer them. The idea of rebuilding was such an obvious lie, he disgusted himself. No matter how many generations passed, they would never be able to successfully revolt. The kuagoa of the Azerlisia Mountains would forevermore be bound to serve this horrible master, chains around their necks.

  The wildly struggling lizard slipped out of Riyuro’s hand and disappeared into the mass of soldier legs. “Ahhh,” he lamented pathetically and felt so pitiful that he began to softly weep. “If you’re that strong, just say so! Why…why didn’t you tell us?”