"Your Majesty Cassius, please wait a moment."
"The supreme ruler of our Brass Fortress—who is also my father—will come to receive you."
After leading Cassius and his retinue to an exquisite bronze palace, Grim spoke.
Serkan stepped forward, glancing left and right before anxiously leaning close and murmuring in a low voice:
"Your Majesty..."
"We have only ever stayed in the outer reaches of the Brass Fortress before, but there is no question that this city holds immense value."
"It could easily become the empire's stronghold on the Elemental Plane of Fire. With you here in person, along with a thousand imperial soldiers, why don't we..."
The half-dragon's heart hammered wildly, his eyes burning with ambition.
For the imperial military, territorial expansion was everything; harboring such thoughts was only natural.
Cassius gently shook his head.
"No, Serkan."
"The most precious treasure here isn't this Brass Fortress, but the fire dwarves within it."
"The empire has no foundation on the Elemental Plane of Fire. We need a deeply rooted native race as an ally."
Glancing at Serkan beside him, he continued, "Besides, haven't you read that treatise on colonization published by the empire? Force of arms isn't the only way to control a race."
"I was foolish, Your Majesty."
A flash of disappointment crossed Serkan's eyes. He bowed his head and pondered Cassius's words with great care.
Normally, he would never have had the privilege of an audience with the Emperor, so presented with such a rare opportunity, he naturally seized every second.
"Your Majesty."
"They are here," the adjutant beside him whispered.
From the distance approached a group of fire dwarves clad in brass kilts. The leader wore a miniature crown and carried a cast-bronze scepter.
Upon laying eyes on Cassius, the lead fire dwarf took only a single look before bowing deeply.
"I, Sharin Cardoso, greet the great Emperor Cassius. Grim has already explained the purpose of your visit to me."
"A pleasure to meet you as well, noble master of the Brass Fortress."
Cassius nodded in acknowledgment. As he examined the fire dwarf noble, a trace of gravity surfaced deep within his pale gold pupils.
This fire dwarf noble was by no means as frail and unassuming as he appeared.
As master of the Brass Fortress, he was at least several thousand years old, his ancestry likely tracing back to the distant mythic era.
'I must take him seriously.'
'Fire dwarves... make decent "allies." If they can be brought under our sway, the benefits to the empire will be immense.'
So thought Cassius.
Meanwhile, Sharin was also casually observing the dragon in human guise before him.
What unnerved the fire dwarf was that even in human form, this dragon radiated an irrepressible draconic aura.
It even brought to mind the progenitor dragons of ancient times, who had dominated worlds and shaken the multiverse.
'I must tread carefully. Perhaps... his arrival will determine the rise or fall of the Brass Fortress.'
So thought Sharin.
Inwardly, he felt fortunate that he had stood his ground against opposing voices to take in those dragonblood fighters from the Material Plane.
Otherwise, the ones facing the dragon's wrath right now might well have been them instead of the efreet.
With that in mind, Sharin took the initiative to speak, his bronze-cast face beaming with smiles.
"Your Majesty Cassius, you have once again aided us in shattering an efreet invasion. I hardly know how to express my gratitude."
He extended a hand and bowed in a welcoming gesture.
"How about this: we shall hold a grand banquet in the palace to thank you for your aid, celebrate your arrival, and show you the warm hospitality of our fire dwarves."
"In addition, we fire dwarves have prepared over ten thousand gold coins to repay your kindness."
Sharin adopted an exceedingly humble posture. He had likely dealt with red dragons many times before, well aware of their boastful pride and avaricious greed.
No matter how peculiar a dragon might be, none could shed their draconic nature. The fire dwarf noble was confident this customary routine would satisfy the dragon emperor.
Yet the response caught him entirely off guard, making his pupils flicker.
"There is no need for that just yet," Cassius said with a slight shake of his head and a faint smile.
"An enemy of an enemy is a friend. You fire dwarves and the efreet are mortal foes, and my subordinates are also wanted by them."
"Viewed that way... the empire and the fire dwarves should be considered natural allies."
"Besides, with a formidable foe before us, we ought to eliminate the efreet standing in our path before we turn our attention to banquets and rewards, wouldn't you agree?"
Sharin froze for a moment.
This dragon didn't covet gold coins? Nor did he seem interested in fame and vanity?
After pondering a moment, the fire dwarf noble hurriedly chimed in, "You speak truly."
Yet Cassius continued, flames swirling within his eyes that sent a shiver down the fire dwarf's spine.
"Moreover... my grand feast does not lie in your Brass Fortress, but in that City of Pig Iron."
"I... I understand."
The fire dwarf swallowed hard.
Cassius offered a reassuring word: "Worry not, Lord Sharin. My wrath is aimed only at the efreet who insulted me; it has nothing to do with you fire dwarves."
"For now, I only want intelligence regarding the City of Pig Iron. I hear you were responsible for its construction."
Sharin nodded solemnly and replied, "Long ago, when the efreet were still our allies, we helped them build many cities..."
"The City of Brass is the greatest masterpiece of our fire dwarf race. As for the so-called City of Pig Iron, heh."
He gave a quiet scoff, shaking his head before continuing, "Merely a crude imitation, riddled with flaws in my eyes."
"Those efreet are nothing more than bandits who abducted our people and seized our works, while the finest craft will forever remain in the hands of the fire dwarves!"
Sharin tightened his grip on his scepter, his voice brimming with conviction.
A smile touched Cassius's face. He had long noticed this trait in the fire dwarves—the moment past glories were mentioned, their chests would swell with pride.
Perhaps he could exploit this to bring the fire dwarves of the Brass Fortress under his control.
He wouldn't resort to a crude method like outright enslavement, but rather a more liberal form of labor.
Beside them, Grim added in a low voice, "The efreeti in the City of Pig Iron has only recently taken office as its 'Emir'—which is to say, its lord."
"The previous celebratory banquet was ruined by Lady Misha, so he should be hosting a new one in the near future..."
His meaning was clear.
That efreet noble would certainly attend the banquet, presenting a prime opportunity.
Cassius let out a soft chuckle.
"Very well. It seems I have found the 'feast' that belongs to me."
The fire dwarves present swallowed in unison. Had their heads not been crowned with flames, cold sweat surely would have beaded across their brows.
Chapter 444