Chapter 277 – Do you want to live? (1)

Inside Castle Blang, the closest place to the Breck Kingdom's side of the Gorge of Death.
In a prison cell within that castle.

Cale was walking down the corridor of Castle Blang's prison hallway. He asked Rosalyn who was standing next to him, a question.

"Are the Flame Dwarves doing well?"

Rosalyn scoffed at Cale's casual question.

The Bear tribe and the Flame Dwarf tribe had been taken prisoners after their defeat. They were moved to Castle Blang, which was close to the Gorge of Death, with the Bears being placed in the underground prison and the Flame Dwarves being placed in the regular prison.

"Young master Cale, I suppose they have been well."

Cale and Rosalyn made eye contact. She had a cold smile as she continued to speak.

"They've just been shaking in fear because they don't know when they would end up dying."

Rosalyn saw Choi Han and Mary who had both followed Cale here flinch at her response, however, she didn't pay much attention to it.
Choi Han had followed Cale from the Eastern continent while Cale had called the necromancer Mary to come here.
Rosalyn asked a question to Cale.

"Will you give them a way to live?"
"I'm not sure."

Cale stood in front of the large iron gate.

This was a small area where all of the criminals were gathered together.
Although it was called small, hundreds of people would still fit inside.

"Commander-nim, you're here."

There was only one door to go in and out of this area. The knights and soldiers standing in front of the door greeted Cale's group with nervous expressions.

Rosalyn gave an order to the knights.

"Open the door."

The knights bowed and two soldiers immediately pushed open the heavy iron gate.

Screeeech-

The door slowly opened to reveal the area inside.

The mages, knights, and soldiers inside were the first to be seen.
They were stationed in multiple spots in the area, standing there with serious expressions and ready to act at any moment.

Cale moved his gaze from them and lowered his head.

– Human! There are so many Dwarves!

The Dwarves, a race that was shorter than humans, were standing in line in groups of ten and looking up at Cale.
Raon continued to speak in Cale's mind.

– The Dwarves seem to be extremely scared!

Not all of them were like that, however, the majority of them had scared expressions on their faces.

They had no choice but to be scared.

They were all chained and brought over to this area this morning. The joy from being able to see their friends and family after being separated in different cells in groups of ten did not last very long.

They had noticed that something was up.

The prison guards were gone, while knights and mages who were part of the battle squads had appeared and started to keep a watch over them.

Furthermore, soldiers stood in between the Flame Dwarves and created a vicious atmosphere in order to prevent the Dwarves from having any silly ideas.

'Something is going to happen.'

The Dwarves realized that something big was going to happen to them today.

After wondering what that might be all day, they finally got to see the two red-haired commanders for the first time in a while.

Rosalyn and Cale.
Both of them were figures of resentment and fear for them.

The battle at the Gorge of Death.
The Flame Dwarf tribe had bet everything on that battle. That was why they had brought out the wings and magic bomb launchers while they led their entire tribe into battle.
The weak members of their tribe had stayed in the back while showing their talented abilities with their hands while the rest of the adults had all gone into battle.

'We needed freedom.'

Kanelle, the current chief of the Flame Dwarf tribe, bit down on his lips.

To be more specific, they wanted Arm to approve of their abilities and give them a territory of their own. They wanted to be able to turn even a small corner of the North into the Flame Dwarf tribe's territory.

They were a part of a stupid tribe that was not talented in making magic devices.
The memories of being mocked by the other Dwarves were still vivid in their minds. That was why they continued to work hard and now, they could make some decent magic devices.

The results of that were the wings that they had shown during the last battle.

However, those wings were easily destroyed.

Chief Kanelle felt as if that was telling them that the Flame Dwarf tribe would never fly.

"Looks like you are all here."

Kanelle's gaze headed toward one of the two red-haired commanders.
It was Rosalyn.

Kanelle's gaze was full of anger as he stared at Rosalyn. It was a normal reaction from a leader who had led a tribe to fight for the other side.

However, he felt fear instead of anger when the other red-haired commander started to speak.

"All of you can leave."

Cale Henituse. He stepped onto the small platform in front of the Dwarves and gave the order.

The Breck Kingdom's knights, mages, and soldiers flinched at his order and looked toward Rosalyn. They seemed to be nervous.

Although Cale, as well as Choi Han and Mary who were standing him, were strong, there were still five hundred enemies. It could cause an issue if they decided to act on their anger from losing the battle.

The knights and mages had gathered here in order to keep them in check, however, Cale was telling them to leave.
Rosalyn looked toward Cale while thinking that this was odd, however, she soon nodded toward the knight who was the representative of the group.

Clack. Clack. Clack.
Stiff footsteps could be heard. All of them soon left through the only door out of the area.

Screeeech-

The iron gate slowly moved before it closed completely.

Bang!

The inside of this area was completely separated from the outside.
The Dwarves' gazes slowly headed toward the top of the platform. There was only one place to look in this area that had nothing but bumpy walls.

Their gazes all stopped at one location.
It was the location of the person who held their lives in his hands.

Kanelle, the Flame Dwarf tribe chief, looked toward Cale Henituse with fear.

'…The person who fell the Dragon half-blood.'

Realistically it was Choi Han and the Whales who had taken down the Dragon half-blood, however, the Flame Dwarves saw it as Cale who had created the foundation to defeat the Dragon half-blood.

All Dwarves feared the power of Dragons.
Cale was the leader of the people who had fought against that Dragon half-blood.
They would not be this scared if it was just Rosalyn standing on the platform. She could not defeat the Dragon half-blood, so she was just like them.
However, Cale was different.

Chief Kanelle, as well as the other Dwarves, were all looking at Cale.
He was the commander who had used the power of fire, water, and earth. He had turned the Flame Dwarf tribe into prisoners of war but had not done anything to them. He had not even come to see them until now.
But that person had suddenly appeared.

What would he have to say?
Would they have to become slaves again just as they had been after being subjugated by the White Star and the Dragon half-blood?
Or would they not even have that chance as he planned to kill them?

Cale started to speak at that moment.

"Do you want to live?"

Chief Kanelle's pupils started to shake.
Although nobody had said anything, the anxiousness of the Dwarves could be felt.

However, Cale did not tell the Flame Dwarves anything else. He closed his eyes and let the chaos continue in front of him. He heard Raon's voice at that moment.

– Human! It's time!

Cale opened his eyes in response and looked toward Rosalyn. She bit down on her lips after seeing Cale's expression.

'Really? Right here-?!'

However, she stiffened her expression and took out a video communication device and connected it.

Ooooooong-

The video communication device started to vibrate.
The screen appeared on the bumpy wall of the area.

"Oh!"
"…Ho."

A good number of Dwarves were shocked. They could hear someone's voice coming through the screen.

– The name of the Empire is not light.

A handsome face with a gentle smile appeared on the screen.

"…The Imperial Prince!"

It was the video of Imperial Prince Adin giving his speech.

Dwarf chief Kanelle subconsciously turned away from the screen and looked toward Cale.
The Indomitable Alliance and the Empire. On the outside, the two of them had no relations to each other, however, Cale Henituse was currently showing the Flame Dwarves who were part of the Indomitable Alliance a video of the Empire's Imperial Prince.

Cale and the Flame Dwarf tribe chief made eye contact.

Smirk.
He could see Cale smiling.

'…It was found out! He's known about it all this time!'

The Indomitable Alliance, Arm, and the Empire. He was certain that Cale knew about it all.
The sound of people gasping in shock, the rustling from people moving, and all other noises disappeared, making the Dwarves all fall into a state of silence.

– The Empire worked hard for peace.

Only Imperial Prince Adin's voice could be heard through the silence.

Cale looked toward the Imperial Prince in the video screen. He could also see numerous citizens of the Empire looking up at Adin who was standing on a platform in the plaza.

They were waving the Empire's flag and not hiding their emotions.

The center of the Western continent.
Our wonderful Empire.
However, it seemed as if their Empire was slowly losing strength these days.

The issue with the Church of the Sun God, Maple Castle, the destroyed palace, and the attempted assassin of the Alchemists' Bell Tower's Vice Tower Master.
The Imperial Prince continued to speak to the citizens who were watching the faltering Empire.

The Empire worked hard for peace.

– This is because the Empire is the center of the Western continent.

The Imperial Prince who was known for having a gentle smile was not here anymore.
His face that looked cold without a smile had an extremely serious expression as he proclaimed to the citizens of the Empire as well, as those watching through the screen.

– We have decided to take back our lost castle.

Their lost castle.
Maple Castle.
The Empire's pride that had been taken away by Toonka and the Whipper Kingdom.

The Empire's plaza was starting to heat up in this spring day.
The citizens who still trusted the Empire and looked forward to the moment that they would restore their destroyed pride prepared to share their emotions. The Imperial Prince told them, no, he spoke toward the enemies.

– The strong need not hide nor use petty tricks. We only need fair and just methods to show our dominating strength.

'Hooo.'

Cale, who was an enemy the Imperial Prince did not know about, started to smile.

'Fair and just methods eh?
I need to tell Miss Lina and the jungle to hold on a bit longer.'

Cale quite enjoyed, 'fair and just methods,' and a, 'show of dominance.'
Adin returned to his uniquely charming and confident smile and shouted as the heir to the only Empire on the Western continent.

– The Empire. You will be able to feel the value of that name with your bodies from here onward.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-
The citizens' shouts shook the plaza.

They were shouting so loudly that it shook the area where the Flame Dwarves were at as well. The Dwarves' gazes were still on the screen with the Empire's Imperial Prince's face.

The Empire was declaring war against the Whipper Kingdom.
That fact was etched into the minds of the Dwarves.

That was why they slowly turned toward one side. They could see the commander who was casually standing on the platform.

Tap. Tap.

Commander Cale Henituse slowly descended from the platform and approached the Flame Dwarves.
He was at their level now.

However, Chief Kanelle's face turned pale.

There was a familiar yet unfamiliar aura coming from the approaching commander.
It was the aura that they felt while they were pretty much Arm's slaves. It was something that their instincts told them to fear.

'…Dragon Fear!'

They could feel the aura of a Dragon coming from Cale as he descended from the platform. However, Kanelle did not say that out loud.

It was different than a Dragon.

Although it was different, this aura was just as strong as a Dragon's aura.
It was something he had never felt before in his life, however, it still made it hard for him to breathe and made him feel as if he would die if he tried to attack Cale.

The commander who was heading down from the platform stopped walking. He stopped right in front of chief Kanelle.

Kanelle raised his head to look up at Cale.

'This aura.'

Kanelle could tell how Cale had defeated the Dragon half-blood and the Indomitable Alliance.

The commander started to speak.

"Do you want to live?"

The words that were said with a different aura than before weighed heavily and placed the area into a state of silence.

Cale looked toward the Dwarf who was said to be the chief. Cale had already activated a high-intensity Dominating Aura as he waited for the Dwarf's response.

Chief Kanelle soon responded.

Plop.

He kneeled down.

'What's going on?'

Cale became anxious at the reaction that was more extreme than he had expected.
The chief looked ready to shout something. It reminded him of the crazy Guardian Knight, Clopeh.

Cale urgently turned away from the chief.
However, others just saw this as a scary commander coldly ignoring the kneeling chief.

That was why the kneeling chief started to speak.

'Please let them live.'

That was what he wanted to say.

For a chief of a tribe facing someone who already knew about the Empire, Arm, and the Indomitable Alliance's relationship, that was all he could ask for.
If his kneeling could save the lives of even a few of his tribe members from this human who was giving off an aura that was at the level of a Dragon, he would be happy.

That was why he could not help but continue to stare at Cale.

Cale then turned back toward the chief after looking around at the other Dwarves. The chief who thought that his chance had come tried to open his mouth to speak toward Cale again, but Cale was a bit faster.

"There is something for all of you to make."

Dwarves were known for their abilities to make things.
Chief Kanelle gulped down his fear from this Dragon Fear-like aura as he asked.

"What is it you need us to make?"

'Are Flame Dwarves just sad creatures who need to make things and have it taken from us?
Are we not meant to have freedom?'

It was the moment despair went through Kanelle's eyes.

Commander Cale looked at Kanelle and the Dwarves as he continued to speak.

"Make some wings."

Wings.
That word made the Dwarves flinch.

They had made wings during their attempt to win the battle at the Gorge of Death.
However, those wings ended up being ripped apart and they had failed.

"T, the same wings?"

The chief asked with a shaky voice and Cale thought about someone as he looked at the chief Dwarf.

Icarus.
It was a character from Greek Mythology. He had used his wings to fly up toward the sky before he fell to his death.

However, Cale did not want another Icarus.
He called someone else over instead of responding to the Dwarf who was desperately waiting for a response.

"Mary."
"Yes, Cale-nim."

The necromancer, Mary. The woman who was still wearing a black robe that covered all parts of her body walked over to Cale.
Mary asked Cale who had called her over.

"What is it you need me to do, young master-nim?"

Cale listened to her question and looked around.
He could see the Flame Dwarves and Mary, as well as the closed-off area that they were in.

However, Cale was thinking about the sky outside as he answered her question.
He needed the Flame Dwarf tribe and Mary to make something together.

"A firebird."

The location of the first battle with the Empire.
The sky.

He needed an overwhelming power that could dominate the sky.
That overwhelming power would be created by these defeated Flame Dwarves and the necromancer that the Sun God loathes.

Cale preferred to show dominance with overwhelming strength, similar to the Empire's Imperial Prince.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]