Feo Berkana

The tense atmosphere in the air lightened somewhat.

However, the commander-in-chief, the men around him, and everyone here knew that this was not over yet.

The gates were very tough. The teeth and claws of a regular Quagoa would not be able to damage them.

However, some Quagoa had teeth that were said to rival the hardness of mithril. While these were leader-level beings, it would not be unusual to find such entities participating in an attack like this. There was no way to rule out any problems.

"Dammit! If only the gate were electrified!"

That was a suggestion the commander-in-chief had made when he had first taken his position. After all, the gates alone were not reliable enough as a final line of defense.

Of course, there had been various reasons for why they could not enchant the gates, such as a lack of national power, but a big part of that had been because the fortress had always managed to stop any enemy invasions.

Thus, the higher-ups had the attitude that "as long as the fortress holds, everything will be fine".

Looking around, he saw grim and dark expressions on everyone’s faces.

This was bad. If they lost their hope for the future, they would end up losing when the fighting became desperate.

The commander-in-chief decided to turn the situation around, and shouted:

"Well done! We’ve ensured the city’s safety! But it’s not guaranteed by any means! Start setting up barricades in case the enemy breaks through the gates! Hurry up!" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

New determination filled the faces of the Dwarven soldiers.

The knowledge that there was still something they could do rekindled their motivation. Even a fragile hope was better than none at all.

The commander-in-chief’s chief of staff stood beside him and whispered into his ear.

"Sir, should we bury the gate with sand and dirt?"

The commander-in-chief pondered the other Dwarf’s words.

If they sealed it off completely, many Dwarves would express their disapproval.

"They have no idea what’s going on."

The commander-in-chief noticed his chief of staff’s expression. He had probably assumed the commander-in-chief’s statement to be a reply to his question.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean you. I meant that lot - the Regent Council."

"You’re one of them too, aren’t you, commander-in-chief? So that’s their response to a complete lockdown? Personally, I don’t think sealing it off is enough. We should abandon Feo Berkana."

The commander-in-chief narrowed his eyes and dragged his chief of staff by the hand to a place where the men would not hear them.

He did not want their conversation to be overheard by anyone.

"You think so too?"

They had no idea how many Quagoa were on the other side of that gate.

The enemy attack had been too swift and they had been forced onto the back foot. Thus, they had lost many chances to learn about the enemy. What they were doing now was like locking themselves up and closing their eyes.

The only solid piece of data they had was that the enemy had enough fighting power to bring down the hitherto impregnable fortress, and they had to think of a way to deal with that.

Under these circumstances, and after taking their fighting power into consideration, it would be extremely difficult for the Dwarves to open the gates and beat back the enemy. The best solution might well be to abandon their capital.

"Then, how much time will burying it in dirt and soil buy us?"

"If we collapse the cavern, we’ll be able to buy a lot of time, but if we use sand and dirt alone, we’ll only gain a few days at most."

"What dangers will a collapse pose?"

"As you know, we aren’t far from Feo Berkana. Although I can’t really be sure without having the Tunnel Doctors check, there’s a chance that it might affect the city as well. The worst-case scenario is that a shortcut opens up from beyond the gates and the Quagoa pour through it and into Feo Berkana..."

"In other words, we need to find out right now. Then, next question. Do you think the fortress fell under sheer weight of numbers? Why didn’t the people in the fortress inform us sooner?"

"I thought of a few possibilities. Personally, the most likely option is that the Quagoa have enlisted the help of another species."

"Could it be the Frost Dragons?"

"Report! Report! I have a report! Where’s the commander-in-chief?!"

Looking toward the source of that voice, the commander-in-chief saw a Dwarven soldier mounted on a riding lizard.

"There is a group of humans in front of the fortress. They said they were from Re-Estize."

~~~

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