Chapter 324: Chapter 286: Elves, Dwarves, and the Princess, Arriving One After Another

The breath of early spring, like a tender sprout cautiously poking its head out, was quietly seeping into the biting cold of the Northern Territory.

The sky had shed its wintry, leaden-gray hue, revealing a thin, fragile blue. Sunlight flowed tentatively into the cracks between the stones of the city walls and roads, only to be swept up by the biting wind, which kicked up fine dust and the damp chill of melting snow.

The lingering chill of winter remained in the air, mingled with the faint, earthy scent of thawing soil and the smell of livestock waiting to enter the city.

During this busy season of new beginnings, two groups, starkly different in style yet equally burdened with heavy packs, arrived almost simultaneously before the weathered, massive gates of Birch Town.

On the left stood a group of tall figures, as still as a row of straight, silent firs.

They wore light, durable, vine-green leather armor, its plates shimmering with a faint, almost imperceptible magical glow. Their packs, bound with treated leaves and special fabrics, were tidy and possessed a natural rhythm.

Their leader was a lady of delicate features and an approachable air, yet her eyes held the deep-seated aloofness characteristic of Elves. This was the Elven "Trade Team," sent on a secret order from the Empire’s Empress to support Jon.

Their posture was graceful, but their movements carried a proud, confident severity.

On the right was a completely opposite group.

The Dwarves wore thick leather coats or chainmail caked with mineral dust, their burly, exposed arms corded with veins as they gathered in a noisy, disorderly throng.

They carried heavy chests, forge components, sacks of ore, and various other objects of odd shapes wrapped in oilcloth, all glinting with the cold light of metal.

Steam rose from their bodies, carrying a coarse scent of sweat, metal, and sulfur.

The lead Dwarf was in the prime of his life and slightly taller than his kin, making him stand out from the crowd. His gaze burned like a torch as he stared at the gate—this was the team of Dwarf Artisans, who had answered Sutton’s call, honoring an ancestral oath to serve Jon.

The stream of merchants queuing to enter the city saw this scene and, with expressions of understanding mixed with a hint of schadenfreude, retreated to either side, clearing a wide-open space between the two groups.

Sure enough, wherever Dwarves and Elves met, clashes were inevitable.

When Brege—the Dwarf leader—boisterously waved his team forward, trying to occupy the entrance to the gate’s passage, a guard in the Elven line, one wearing a vine-patterned armband, could no longer hold his tongue.

His slender eyebrows rose impatiently. His clear voice, like glacial spring water dripping onto a jade plate, cut through the noise.

"To be children of order, yet so unruly? You carry forges and ore, yet you look more like blind cave-dwellers who’ve crawled out from the depths of the earth."

His words hit the heated air with the effect of cold water poured into boiling oil.

"Bullshit!"

Brege instantly exploded. His swarthy face flushed the color of molten iron in a furnace, and every hair in his knotted beard stood on end.

He clenched his massive fists and, with a great "CLANG," slammed the huge forge component he was carrying onto the frozen ground beside him.

"Rules? You’re talking to me about rules? A Dwarf who’s drilled through the Earth Core’s magma veins and hammered mithril lodes? We’ve stepped on more rock slag than you’ve eaten leaves!"

"Open those eyes of yours—the ones smaller than pinpricks—and take a look! We’re carrying gear that can actually kill our enemies, not like you lot—"

His thick finger pointed across the gap at the tidy, faintly glowing packs in the Elven line.

"Wrapping up a few rotten leaves, carrying a couple of decorative trellises... all for show. Do you really think you’re a bunch of pampered young ladies on a scenic tour?"

"Hypocrites! You pointy-ears reek of hypocrisy from head to toe!"

Brege’s furnace-like roar reverberated before the city gate, seeming to scatter even the biting wind of early spring.

And that word, "Hypocrites," was the final spark that ignited the Elves’ suppressed impatience.

As the Empress’s most loyal guards, most of them hailed from ancient noble houses, with pride etched into their very bones. Instantly, several young Elves who had not intended to join the conflict were provoked into retorting.

"Crude!"

"Insolent lumps of rock!"

"Do worms from the depths of the earth dare to criticize Elven craftsmanship?"

A handsome, golden-haired Elf youth with hair like a waterfall stepped forward, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smirk.

"We carry the wisdom of Lin Yu, the Secret Rituals of the stars. How could brutes like you, who only know how to swing hammers, possibly understand? Your very existence is a blasphemy against elegance!"

Another Elf Maiden’s emerald eyes burned with indignant fury, her voice crisp but filled with contempt.

"At least we understand order and cleanliness! Look at you—the stench of sweat and sulfur is your banner, and brutish roars are your language!"

"Ha! Well said! Just look at that pile of scrap they’re carrying. I bet they just dug it out of some Abandoned Mine, didn’t they?"

Another Elf joined the mockery, eliciting a wave of restrained yet sharp sneers from the Elven ranks.

The laughter was like fine shards of Ice Crystal, scraping against the Dwarves’ eardrums and nerves.

"Bullshit!!"

"Tear those pointy-ears’ foul mouths off!"

"Brothers, let’s give them a taste of a Dwarven iron fist!"

The Dwarves absolutely erupted.

Brege’s roar was the signal to charge.

Their eyes wide with fury, their swarthy faces like red-hot branding irons, the knotted muscles on their bodies bulged beneath their thick leather coats. Heavy packs and sacks of ore were thrown to the ground with a series of loud "CLANGS."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.