Chapter Fifty-Five: The Script Must Be Uplifting

Time passed day by day.

Jen had no idea what the humans were planning, but from the map, it was clear they had gathered a massive force, seemingly preparing for a decisive strike. On the other side, the patrol squad’s encounter with the humans had left the Gray Dwarf governor furious and shouting. From Verna, Jen learned that Kadec had assembled the entire army of Gray Dwarves from Brandon Stone City, convinced that Onyx Stone City had lured these surface humans here to expand their influence.

It was hardly surprising that Kadec would think so. The saying goes: those not of our kind must have different hearts. Surface and underground races were often as alien to each other as creatures from different planets, and mutual suspicion ran deep. Take Onyx Stone City, for example—they naturally saw the humans who had driven them from the surface as their most hated foes. Yet, to the dwellers of the Darklands, even if Onyx Stone City and Brandon Stone City fought like dogs, they were still dogs; it would never make them cats. So even if Onyx Stone City laid its heart bare, claiming their enmity with humans was boundless, that they wished nothing more than to wipe them out, the Gray Dwarves would only think these fellows were trying to deceive them.

Of course, if Onyx Stone City were willing to surrender their freedom and dignity, becoming vassals or slaves to the other underground races, then perhaps their sincerity could be considered. But unfortunately, Onyx Stone City would never accept such a “fair treatment” colored by the Darklands; they would rather fight for their own dignity.

Meanwhile, Onyx Stone City seemed completely unaware of the events unfolding here, still preparing to roll up their sleeves and “have a talk” with Brandon Stone City.

Such was the limitation of the Darklands. Its peculiar nature meant that large-scale, long-term population movements were rare, making communication between cities exceedingly difficult. On the surface, information could be passed by changing one’s appearance and traveling along safe roads, but in the Darklands, leaving the city boundaries meant there were no safe paths at all.

Thus, for any city to acquire intelligence about another was a challenge. They could rely on merchant caravans or spend a fortune on magical communication. But the latter was only used in extreme cases, because every city had departments dedicated to monitoring magical signals. Anyone attempting to contact the outside world via magic would be exposed almost instantly.

Not to mention the prohibitive cost and the fact that only specialized mages could use such magic—its limitations were severe, beyond the reach of most. The only other method was through divine oracle, but such revelations were rare and typically only granted when a demon lord’s followers stood on the verge of destruction. If the lord was in a good mood, they might offer a warning; otherwise, they would ignore their supplicants entirely.

So the current situation was this: Onyx Stone City knew nothing of the humans’ arrival and was preparing to teach Brandon Stone City a lesson. Brandon Stone City believed the humans and Onyx Stone City were allied, sharpening their knives to deal with the surface interlopers. The humans, ignorant of Onyx Stone City’s existence, thought only that the Gray Dwarves had attacked them, and thus sought vengeance for their kin and the eradication of evil. Still, they would not spare Onyx Stone City if they discovered them. If Gray Dwarves were obscure denizens of the Darklands, then Onyx Stone City’s people were those driven from the surface—the humans would strike them far harder than the Gray Dwarves.

Each side had its own perspective, but Jen could only look on and shake his head at the tangled web they wove.

“It seems things are truly chaotic now,” he observed.

Standing quietly before the desk, listening to Jen’s analysis of the current situation, Enoea furrowed her brow in concern.

“Master, what do you think will happen if these three groups meet?”

“That’s hard to say,” Jen replied, spreading his hands and shrugging. “The humans won’t care about the details; to them, both Onyx Stone City and Brandon Stone City are children of darkness. As knights of the Holy Order, they’d prefer to annihilate them all. Brandon Stone City’s stance is equally resolute—the Gray Dwarves are stubborn, and for them, both Onyx Stone City and the humans are surface dwellers to be destroyed. If Onyx Stone City could be crushed, all the better…”

At this, Enoea’s eyes brightened.

“So the only one left is…”

“Onyx Stone City,” Jen nodded, meeting her gaze.

From the beginning, Jen’s attention had been on Onyx Stone City. Despite his close ties with Brandon Stone City, and the fact he had slain many of Onyx Stone City’s elite—including taking their princess hostage—in his actual plan, Onyx Stone City was the faction most likely to submit to him.

The reason was simple: in the Darklands, Onyx Stone City had the weakest foundation. They came from the surface, and thus had never been accepted by the other forces here. Nor would they be, for a long time to come.

In such circumstances, Onyx Stone City needed a powerful patron. The Dungeon was the strongest in the Darklands, being the palace of a demon lord. Any would-be troublemakers among the other races had to weigh their own strength and consider whether they might anger the demon lord they worshiped. The politics of the demon realm were complex, and flattering the wrong lord could lead to total annihilation.

Another reason Jen favored Onyx Stone City was the weakness of their three races’ patron deities.

The serpentfolk worshiped the Serpent of Wisdom, Drian; the half-vampires, the Blood Queen, Lanassar; and the tieflings, the Lord of Darkness, Soren. Of these, Soren was strongest, Lanassar second, and Drian last. The Serpent of Wisdom was a petty overlord, whose influence ended at his own swamp. Stealing his followers posed no risk, and Jen had nothing to fear.

As for Lanassar and Soren, they were powerful in the demon realm, but the question remained: what were half-vampires and tieflings, really?

Lanassar was queen of the vampires, Soren the ruler of hell, but only vampires and devils truly belonged to them. Half-vampires and tieflings—hybrids with mixed blood—were like bastard children hoping to be accepted into a noble house. Who would care about them?

If they were truly useful, any demon lord could simply command, and Onyx Stone City wouldn’t be so miserable in the Darklands. Jen even suspected their endless prayers annoyed their patrons so much that they deliberately let them suffer.

Onyx Stone City’s people were indeed pitiable: as children of darkness, they were rejected both by their own demon lords and the other races of the Darklands. Scorned from top to bottom, their plight was tragic. It was easy to imagine that, caught off guard, they would be struck hard by both the humans and Brandon Stone City. Even if they begged Brandon Stone City for help “in the name of the Darklands,” they would receive only cold shoulders, and be driven back by the Gray Dwarves.

This was exactly what Jen hoped for. Only by pushing them into desperation would Onyx Stone City fully submit to him. Their desire to retake the surface was stronger than any other force in the Darklands. The mind flayers cared nothing for surface affairs; the Gray Dwarves abhorred leaving the Darklands. As for the dark elves? Their hatred for the surface was mere lip service; if asked to leave the Darklands for the forests, they’d refuse.

But once both sides had common interests and goals, there would be no more obstacles.

“We need a script full of positive energy, Enoea,” Jen said, raising his hands and gesturing to his aide. “You know, all legends of heroes on the surface begin this way: to destroy evil, brave warriors plunge into the dark, wicked abyss. They endure hardships, lose many comrades, and finally vanquish the evil demon lord…” Here, Jen paused, then winked at Enoea. “The heart of the story is that no matter the losses, in the end, justice triumphs over evil. Do you see? The glory of victory belongs to the children of light, to knights who believe in fairness and justice. Their fearless actions rid the world of evil, and peace returns to the land. I believe such a tale would be deeply moving.”

“Of course, Master,” Enoea replied, her confident smile unwavering.

“Justice will prevail over evil. Those heroes from the surface will surely return victorious.”