85. Eisentapha
On the hills northeast of the vast plains, a gloomy castle rose from the earth.
Eisentapha Fortress.
Once a human stronghold, it boasted of being an unbreakable “Iron Fortress.” An arrogant general even claimed it could withstand a dragon attack for at least three years.
But under the dragon race’s assault, it fell in just three hours.
Later, due to its geographical location, Eisentapha Fortress didn’t belong to any race’s territory. However, because of the dragon race’s influence, no one dared to claim it as their own.
As the demons’ territory expanded across the world, Eisentapha Fortress was located between the dragon race and the blood race. Later, as the beastmen grew stronger, they expanded across the plains, clashing fiercely with the blood race, pushing their territory all the way to the southeastern corner.
Coupled with humanity’s quiet northward expansion, Eisentapha’s geographical location became awkward, a point of contention between the four races.
Sophia had originally thought that such a region wouldn’t be subject to orcish provocation or attacks, but she, in her naivety, was ultimately mistaken…
Reina could assert this with certainty.
The orcs didn’t care about any race’s dignity. Any existence not belonging to the “beastmen” category was to be destroyed and trampled upon. Many races could be integrated into the “beastmen,” becoming part of their horde, but the blood race was on their “blacklist.” Only the slaughter of the blood race could satisfy the orcs’ desires.
In previous difficulty levels, the orcish legions, considered the “weakest race,” could be described as overconfident, but now, their ambition, fueled by the Goddess’s treasures, had become rampant and uncontrollable, spreading across the plains like a virus.
Reina had deployed the Azure Scale Knights to the east of Eisentapha Fortress in advance. They were the Dragon King’s personal guard, a reasonable deployment.
She had prepared teleportation scrolls and, on the other end, a large number of Dragon Knights and the Twelve Great Dragons were on standby.
In contrast, Reina didn’t sense any strategy from the blood race…
Sophia had really only brought a few of her trusted aides.
In the gloomy and dim hall of the old castle, the two queens sat facing each other on either side of a round table.
Calysia rested her hands naturally on her black-stockinged thighs, sitting gracefully, like a sheltered young lady, or a composed noblewoman.
Sophia wore a black and white Gothic Lolita dress. She was tall, with a full figure and a slender waist. Her pale skin was devoid of any blood color, and her crimson eyes glowed faintly in the darkness.
With her oval face, sharp chin, and long eyelashes, she was considered a true beauty even by human standards.
Her long, silver-white hair cascaded down, a hint of gentleness in her imposing aura.
“We earnestly request the dragon race’s support, to sign a peace agreement and jointly resist the orcs’ aggression.”
She clenched her fists, her eyes filled with hatred for the orcs.
Two small canines peeked out as she spoke, giving her a somewhat cute appearance.
“Even if the blood race becomes subordinate to the dragon race, I don’t want my people to be slaughtered by the orcs. Dragon King, as their queen, I implore you for your help on behalf of the entire blood race.”
Reina stood behind Calysia in the cramped space of the old castle, the only one serving as Calysia’s aide. She wore the [Divine Sea Pearl], a pair of wings projected behind her with light magic to complete the illusion.
Sophia’s attitude wasn’t unexpected.
The blood race in this world was supposed to be incredibly arrogant, but their queen displayed a completely different demeanor—she wasn’t outstanding, not a brilliant ruler, but she was dutiful and responsible, knowing when to advance and when to retreat.
“Your Majesty.”
The butler standing beside Sophia appeared to be a young man, slender and tall. He had a noticeable scar on half of his face, seemingly a wound from a battle with the orcs.
Hearing Sophia’s words, his face darkened, and he adjusted his glasses.
Lowering his head, he whispered in her ear:
“This… might be inappropriate…”
This meeting was somewhat of a formality; the content of the negotiations was the most important part.
Moreover, this behavior was beneath the queen’s dignity.
The butler had served the queen for decades and was known for his composure and elegance, but the ferocious scar on his face made him increasingly irritable.
“There’s nothing inappropriate.”
Sophia shook her head, her voice tinged with despair.
“Peter, our race is in grave danger. At this point, only the dragon race is willing to lend us a hand.”
“But we can’t just…”
“Peter, this is an order,” Sophia said sadly. “Dragon King, thank you again for coming. I’m willing to cede the eastern plains to the dragon race, and all the northern territories can belong to you. We only need enough space to survive and enough food to eat.”
“Your Majesty Sophia.”
Just then, Reina interrupted their conversation, smiling faintly at the queen:
“This isn’t the place to talk.”
Sophia froze.
She instantly understood something, and fear flickered in her eyes.
But Peter, the butler, was still clueless. He pointed at Reina and said loudly:
“You insolent creature! This is a matter between our Blood Queen and the Dragon King. There’s no place for you to speak!”
But at this moment, a sharp explosion in the sky interrupted the butler.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—”
Before the butler could continue, his expression quickly changed from anger to fear, then to respect, apologizing to Reina with his eyes.
Sounds like cannon fire drew closer and closer.
Several blood race soldiers suddenly rushed into Eisentapha Fortress, panicking:
“Your Majesty! It’s the orcs, the orc army is here! It seems they… teleported here!”
Peter, the butler, lowered his head in despair, adjusting his glasses:
“They actually attacked, completely disregarding the blood race’s dignity.”
“We’re finished…”
Suddenly, the butler became furious. He glared at Reina and cursed:
“It was you dragons who leaked the information! The orcs couldn’t have known the location of this meeting!”
“Peter!”
Sophia scolded sternly, but seeing Peter’s face, she immediately calmed down.
“It’s normal for our blood race to be… trampled upon…”
“Now is not the time to worry about that.”
Sophia said, forcing a smile:
“We’ve already lost.”
Peter understood instantly.
He nodded, looking at Reina apologetically again.
Among all the blood race present, only Sophia remained calm.
“Boom—!”
At the same time, a loud crash echoed from all sides of Eisentapha Fortress. Fortunately, the fortress walls were strong and sturdy, but the ground still trembled violently, the entire hall shaking like a ship on the waves.
After a few minutes, the fortress stopped shaking.
“Master Calysia, I’ll go deal with those insolent orcs.”
Reina said casually in front of the Dragon King, as if putting on a show for the blood race.
Seeing this, the surrounding blood race guards originally wanted to offer friendly reminders and intercept, but thinking of the dragon race’s strength, they hesitated, stopping their meaningless “kindness” and lamenting their own weakness.
Sophia’s eyes lit up:
“Dragon King, I’ve always wanted to ask, who is that powerful dragon girl?”
“Hehe…”
Calysia chuckled softly:
“She’s my wife.”
