Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 404 Lingering Doubts
Capturing prisoners, bandaging the wounded, and cleaning up the corpses—the dwarves led by Bardkegan handled these tasks with remarkable ease.

The drow and grey dwarves were all tied up and guarded, while the distinguished Taybien and Eirima enjoyed VIP treatment.

Among them was an exquisitely enchanted chain of imprisonment and a collar of silence. They were also provided with a private car service, so neither of them had to walk. Old Clockwork and Tinker each carried one of them, their iron hands as big as winnowing baskets easily scooping up the petite drow, no more effort than catching a chick.

Finally, after tallying the count, there were a total of five drow prisoners. In addition to these two distinguished guests, there were three female dark elves and four grey dwarf prisoners. Even when the dwarves were examining the group of fallen tauren corpses, they found that two of them were still breathing.

The regrouped dwarven expedition, accompanied by a group of prisoners, looked more like a slave-hunting group returning with a full load.

Although the results were brilliant, the fact that the dispatch team suffered casualties before even arriving to report for duty left Master Zhang quite displeased.

In this battle, three Shieldbearers and one Craftsman of the Dwarves were killed in action, all in the first two waves of attacks mixed with the Tauren charge. The remaining six were seriously wounded.

The Dark Elf hunting party left behind twenty-two corpses, with the Light Drow himself losing eleven lives, exactly half the total.

"I'm just that charming!"

A dashing little deer, performing a tap dance, makes its grand entrance, summoning the power of nature to transform into tiny orbs of light that dance and heal the wounded.

Of course, the drows weren't included. The unfortunate captured dwarves were only given a hasty bandage and that was it. Even then, the dwarves only obeyed the mage's orders.

How could those petty, vengeful short guys possibly let go of an enemy they had just fought a fierce battle with?

Even if ten years pass, they probably won't let it go. Instead, they'll shout, "You're the one who killed my distant cousin XXX back then! Prepare to die!"

What's more, there are also gray dwarves here.

In terms of bloodline, the Grey Dwarves are also a branch of the Dwarves. Unfortunately, the more they are related, the deeper the enmity between them becomes.

Apart from the deep-earth dwarves, almost all subspecies living in the Underdark harbor a deep-seated and irreconcilable hatred for their distant relatives on the surface, even after years of evolution when their required living space has changed drastically.

The most typical example of this is the dark elves before us. The surface elves would not yearn for the sunless underground, and the drow would find it extremely difficult to tolerate the sun's brilliance. They have no conflict on the most crucial point of survival space, and their factions are not even completely opposed.

But it was hatred, a hatred that was natural, justified, and rightful, especially for Zhuo Er. This hatred was almost innate, instilled in his heart from the time he could remember.

Leaving aside factors such as the long-lived race's excellent memory and social structure, the most crucial issues are nothing more than the existence of deities and the divisions within the racial pantheon.

As long as that old hag Rose's venomous web still hangs over the drow, this situation will not change. It's not that no one has asked Bardkegan to persuade the mage lord to severely punish the dark elves or hand over the grey dwarves to them, but...
Bard and Kagan are not greenhorns; they have been in human society for many years and know the rules and regulations. Who would be stupid enough to make that suggestion?
Kagan, without giving any face, directly refuted him:
"How dare you make me work for the instructor? In what capacity? As a pioneering knight who has sworn allegiance, or as a subordinate who has just had his life saved?"

Kegan, the old bastard he was back then, wouldn't give these fellow clansmen any face. He gave them a good scolding, leaving the few delusional guys unable to lift their heads.

They're all old hands who started from scratch with Master Zhang, how could they not know what kind of temper their boss has?
She can be incredibly generous, but when it comes to being stingy and miserly, few can match her stinginess and penny-pinching nature.

Such a rare prisoner, you just want to kill him? When the boss is in a bind, where will he find a few more drow to make up for the loss?
Moreover, although we seemed to be the mainstay in withstanding the Tauren's attack, judging from the methods of those Drow, if the mages hadn't arrived in time to take over the battlefield, who knows what the final outcome would have been.

After all, their team is composed entirely of melee fighters, which puts them at a significant disadvantage against the cunning and ruthless Drow.

Then, what right do I and these fellow tribesmen have to claim the right to dispose of the spoils of war?

Without further ado, Bard, along with the still-healthy dwarves, was ordered to inventory the prisoners' property—or rather, the mage's new estate—while Kegan was summoned before the mage to explain in detail the cause and effect of the apprentice's sudden incident.

Kegan was quite eloquent, explaining the whole situation clearly and logically. The mage listening to the report looked increasingly puzzled. After the dwarf finished speaking, he frowned and remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

"You mean that the Drow attacked a caravan first, and then rushed over to harass you without even waiting for the main reinforcements?"

"Yes, those dark-skinned beasts have always been keen on planning such massacres to satisfy their perverted bloodlust. They certainly don't want to let a single person go alive."

Kagan shrugged matter-of-factly, saying that this was all he had heard about the Drow, and seeing it today seemed to confirm it.

However, the mage felt it wasn't that simple. While it was true that dark elves were bloodthirsty and brutal, they were completely different from mindless, chaotic, and evil people. On the contrary, they were highly purposeful or utilitarian.

They risked their lives to come down to the ground, only to kill a few merchants and civilians.
Is it enough to cover costs?
The most common reason why drow hunting parties appear on the surface is to slaughter what they call the Raven, the elves, to please Rose or to complete their own adult blood sacrifice.

But where is this place? It's the border between human civilization and the edge of a wild swamp; it doesn't look like the living environment of elves at all.

They came to this farm and acted like they'd keep everyone here even at a cost. What on earth are these black guys up to?

The mage was filled with doubts. He first ordered Kegan to take six dwarf warriors to the other side of the farm to investigate and search. Then he switched to the bird of despair's aerial perspective and used night vision to look down on the land.

He wanted to see what treasures this small plot of land held that could attract venomous snakes from the earth.

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(End of this chapter)