The Gold Vein War (1)
After the Great Cataclysm, a massive gold vein was discovered in the Montefeltro territory, and the news spread across the continent.
There was a race that reacted most sensitively to the news.
They were the former rulers of the Montefeltro territory and the race that loved gold and beer the most - the dwarves.
The dwarves were displeased when they heard that a huge gold vein had suddenly been discovered in the land they had abandoned, and various rumors began to circulate among them.
If it had been a land taken from them by the empire or willingly handed over, there would be no such talk, but that land had been left alone because they had found it too troublesome to manage.
In other words, it was abandoned land.
On that land, the empire suddenly arrived and planted its flag without asking for permission.
At the time, the dwarves were too busy dealing with the disputes of the three kingdoms and had no time to look after the land they had neglected.
If there had been a gold vein, they would have managed it somehow.
But since it wasn't such a land, they left it alone.
Now, time has passed, and the empire has effective control over that land, and from the dwarves' point of view, it is a land that the empire has occupied without permission.
Thunderspire Mountains.
A place where thunder constantly struck, and one of the three dwarven kingdoms was located.
In the royal fortress located there, Gold King Grom Stark was furious upon hearing the news about the Montefeltro territory.
"A gold vein was found there?"
The dwarven soldier who had delivered the news bowed his head, kneeling on one knee.
"Yes, that's what they say."
"That used to be our land…"
Grom Stark, gripping his long beard, frowned, and his loyal subordinate, Orin, who had been close by, spoke up.
He was Grom Stark's faithful follower and had been the one to supply beer to the empire in place of Grom Stark during the past Totem War.
"Currently, the empire is effectively controlling it. But if you think about it, we never handed over that land to them."
Grom Stark spoke with a grim expression.
"Why did a gold vein appear there? Wasn't it a dead land?"
"After the Great Cataclysm, there were significant changes in the terrain there, and it seems that the hidden gold vein was exposed."
"This is a headache."
The land they once called the Azrak Goldmine was now effectively controlled by the empire.
They could go and start a quarrel, but humans, unlike the noble elves, were a race that went mad for gold just like them, so it didn't seem like the situation would be easily resolved.
"They won't just give it back if we ask, will they?"
At that, Orin shook his head.
"It will be difficult. The humans love gold just as much as we do."
"…"
Grom Stark pondered for a moment with a grim expression before raising his voice.
"We can't just give it up like this. It used to be our land."
"Indeed, we never gave that land to the humans. They just took the land we neglected."
As much as the humans were crazy about gold, so were the dwarves.
"No, we can't give it up. If it were just any other land, it wouldn't matter how it turned out. But this is different."
Orin agreed with the king's words, but it didn't seem like the humans would back down easily.
"It's true, but… the humans don't seem like they'll give it up easily."
Grom Stark.
He was the King of the dwarves, the one who breathed thunder.
His mana vibrated the surrounding air, and a massive lightning bolt struck the top of the royal fortress.
Following the thunderous sound that shook the fortress, Grom Stark, with his eyes flickering, rose from his throne and raised his voice.
"Tell the Emperor of the empire this. If they don't kindly return the land that once belonged to us, our long-standing alliance will be shaken."
A few days later.
As the representative of the delegation, Orin visited the empire and met with Christian Constantin, who had recently been enthroned as the new emperor.
At the meeting, Orin, who showed respect, relayed the words of the master of the Thunderspire Mountains.
Upon hearing this, the emperor and many nobles began to buzz loudly.
To return the Montefeltro territory, which could potentially become the empire's source of money, to the dwarves was a shock to them.
Amidst the buzzing, the emperor raised his voice towards the representative of the delegation.
"That is not possible. That land has been under our effective control for a long time. Although you may have been the owners of the land in the past, it is now strictly an imperial territory. And you ask for it to be returned."
Orin stood his ground.
"We dwarves have never once given that land to the humans. So, it's no different than saying that humans are occupying our land without permission."
At the words of the delegation representative, the nobles began to buzz again.
It seemed that the dwarves had come prepared.
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