Only God

It could be said that as long as Laren wished, the Gold Silver Clan would act in the direction He desired.

Now, Kafu the Sixth had suffered a severe setback, Kaelonde had waged a nearly nationwide campaign with meager gains, and the dwarves had paid a astronomical price.

The Dream God Laren had also foreseen the dwarves' failure, so the fallback He left was...

Civil war.

The civil war among the dwarves of Kaelonde.

"Kaelonde has always been full of contradictions, and now with Kafu the Sixth's great defeat, all the blemishes once covered by victories will be exposed."

Dream God Laren spoke softly,

"And whether it's the Gold Silver Clan or the ordinary people, few dwarves are willing to accept this outcome, especially since, years ago, Kafu the Sixth had brutally suppressed the people's uprising, owing a blood debt and earning the name of a tyrant.

Now, it is almost time for reckoning."

His words fell on the ears of Wine God Sibos, who drained the wine in His cup and leaned back on the long bench, inadvertently showing a tipsy smile. The other Gods enjoying the wine echoed the words of the Dream God, gazing upon the myriad states of Mortal World in their drunken laughter, sealing the fate of mortals with elegant harp music reverberating in every corner of the feast.

...........

...........

Kafu the Sixth stared gloomily at the map before him.

Moments later, he roared and tore the map in front of him to shreds.

The attendants serving the King trembled, each holding their breath, none daring to speak.

Even though Kaelonde's campaign was not without gains, even though the dwarves had reclaimed part of Helong (though only a portion), even though both sides had nominally held peace talks and no side was defeated, even though the war had proved the choice of steam technology was correct... Still, the dwarves in the army knew that the war was a loss for Kaelonde.

They had exhausted immense national strength, tens of thousands of lives, and astronomical amounts of money, only to gain a tiny piece of land.

This not only greatly differed from Kafu the Sixth's wish to build an empire, but also deviated far from the dwarves' initial goal—to reclaim the entire Helong Mountain Range.

The cost paid by the dwarves of Kaelonde was severely disproportionate to their gains.

This was a failure, immeasurable and irremediable.

After a long while, Kafu the Sixth gradually calmed down. Although he was still cursing those dismissed legion commanders, his mind was considering the next steps after returning to Kaelonde.

The attendants slowly breathed a sigh of relief; such occurrences happened daily. Whenever Kafu the Sixth recalled the "Miracle of Maxwell," he would explode in fury but would soon regain his composure.

After a long time and many days of thinking, Kafu the Sixth seemed to have finally devised a plan and commanded,

"Send a message back to the Royal City, tell my subjects that we have conquered Golan and are returning triumphantly. A grand ceremony and a festivity to honor Hiris must be held."

The attendants were shocked to hear this and were slow to react.

Facing such a huge setback, why would Kafu the Sixth want to hold a grand ceremony? Wasn't that deluding himself?

Kafu the Sixth seemed to see through their confusion, the dwarven king coldly chuckled and continued,

"Just follow my orders, don't ask too many unnecessary questions."

Faced with the King's threatening words, the attendants trembled and nodded continuously.

"Besides a few backup legions maintaining logistics, all other legions, especially those that have retreated, are to be stationed at the borders. Pass this order on."

"Also, implement a stricter curfew immediately on the border, and except for a few authorized individuals, no one is allowed to leave the border.

Also, bring me paper and pen, I will write a letter to my son, and send some of the spoils to the Gold Silver Clan, telling them that I will personally reward them when I return to the Royal City."

Kafu the Sixth laid out the ideas he had been formulating over the past few days, and the attendants dared not object; they nodded in succession until the King had explained everything, then he waved them off to execute his orders.

After everyone else had left the tent, Kafu the Sixth slowly sat back down in his chair and heavily exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Even the attendants knew that all these measures were just self-deceptions; how could Kafu the Sixth not know?

But he had no choice.

Only a grand celebration could make the Dwarves feel they had not faced defeat, and only by keeping the defeated legions at the border, away from the heart of the Kingdom, could he cover up the truth as much as possible.

If the Dwarves of Kaelonde were to learn that their unstoppable army had actually suffered a disastrous defeat in front of Royal City of Nuo Lang...

Then the consequences would be unimaginable.

Upon this thought, Kafu the Sixth clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead as he once again loudly cursed those Legion Commanders who had been crushed by Maxwell.

..........

The Dwarves of Kaelonde were kept in the dark, as the battle report personally penned by the King was sent back to the Kingdom, sparking another round of celebration throughout the Kingdom.

No one doubted the Dwarves' victory.

Having always broken through boundaries effortlessly within Golan, reaching the front of Royal City of Nuo Lang, no one would believe that the Dwarves could meet with such a crushing defeat.

Victory was expected, failure was illogical.

In this frenzied atmosphere, anyone who doubted this victory was a spy sent by humans, a traitor among the Dwarves.

Even Prince Mura was unaware of the truth. Although he faintly felt something was abnormal, this straightforward Prince chose to believe in his father.

He summoned all the ministers and the Priests from the Temple to start preparing a grand and solemn triumphant ceremony for the Dwarf army, as well as a festival dedicated to Hiris.

Everyone had smiles on their faces; the scene inside the Palace was so harmonious it seemed as if all undercurrents had vanished.

But all of this was temporary.

Including the "victory" Kafu the Sixth had deliberately fabricated.

Every action leaves traces, and Kafu the Sixth's deliberate concealment was nothing more than a desperate struggle to numb the pain; he thought he could deceive the heavens, but how long could he keep it hidden?

Moreover, the Divines of the Celestial Kingdom were watching everything.

The Dream God Laren had already started to act, guiding the memory-wiped Nelson, active among the Gold Silver Clan that held long-standing grudges against Kafu the Sixth.

Nelson, like a Prophet, began performing miracles among the Dwarves, prophesying and revealing the truth about the war.

The Priests of Wine God Sibos, Storm God Utus, and the God of Victory Laiendos also started to become active; the Gods had already involved themselves in the affairs of the Mortal World and were preparing to incite a massive civil war in the Kingdom to destroy the divine Path created under Belvan's research, and let Kaelonde be buried with it.

And Xilan, who had been dormant for a long time, was also ready.

High above in the heavens, this former disciple of a Prophet, having received the mission from God, now returned to the Mortal World solely to stop the conflict.

...........

Many days later.

Kafu the Sixth returned from the front lines in triumph; the King was greeted with enthusiastic cheers in the Royal City, undoubtedly, the Dwarves now regarded him as a hero, a Savior of Dwarves, and a paradigm of wise rule.

As the spoils of plunder from Golan were paraded through the streets in cartloads, the watching Dwarf civilians were dazzled; they had never seen so much human stuff.

The Palace of Kaelonde held a grand banquet to welcome and cleanse the dust off the King, with Prince Mura inviting leaders of the major Clans, artisans from steam technology, Priests from the Temple, as well as some civilians, and naturally, the favored Wood Stone Clan was among them.

In the excitement of celebration, amidst laughter and joy, this banquet about the triumphant return, even the Gods sent their blessings, slowly drawing open the blood-red curtain.