The Prince of Heaven's Gate - Last Stand At World's End

“So, this is why we can’t find them,” Boreas said with a serious expression on his face. “These Kobolds chose this place to build their nest.”

They were all looking at the entrance of a cave that was guarded by three Kobold Warriors.

They were just Rank 1 Monsters and didn’t pose a threat to their team. However, the problem now was that they didn’t know how many Kobolds they were going to deal with.

Kobolds’ nests usually consisted of thousands of individuals. Among the humanoid creatures, these demonic looking dogs reproduce at a very alarming rate.

Legend has it that they also had Draconian blood flowing through their bloodlines, which sometimes led to a birth of a Draconic Kobold whom they treated with reverence.

The middle-aged dwarf, who went by the name Nevreal, was the assigned leader of this expedition, which caught Lux by surprise.

Lux already had a feeling that the Nevreal was someone important, but he never expected that the Rider Captain of Norria would give the middle-aged man full authority over this rescue mission.

Nevreal played with his beard as he weighed their options. Right now, the reinforcements of Norria were on their way. According to his estimates, they would arrive after a day.

He was only concerned about Robin’s safety. Although waiting was the best option right now, he didn’t know Robin’s current condition. He was afraid that if they waited another day, the Kobolds might do something to the boy.

If Robin died on this mission, the consequences were something that Nevreal, and the Stronghold of Norria, couldn’t afford to shoulder._-.

No matter what, they had to save Robin at all costs!

“Using our mounts inside is not possible,” Nevreal said after careful consideration. “We have no choice, but to engage them on foot. The only problem is that the Kobold’s nest is very big. It will take us some time to find Robin’s location.”

The Dwarves nodded their heads in unison.

Lux on the other hand frowned. He understood that their priority was to rescue Robin, but they seem to forget that he was not the only one that needed saving.

For him, his priority was to rescue Colette, Matty, Andy, and Axel. He would prioritize the lives of those little Dwarves over Robin any day.

Lux opened his Elysium Compendium and used it to scan the location of the children in the Kobold’s nest.

Colette, Matty, and Axel, seemed to be in the same place, while Robin and Andy were in another location.

Colette’s group was in the Northeastern part of the nest, while Robin’s was on the Northwestern side. Lux knew that if he told the rescue party that he knew where Robin was located, they would not hesitate to prioritize him over the other Dwarf children.

While he was thinking about what to do next, he noticed that Robin’s status had changed. Right now, the information about Robin stated that he was seriously injured. A few seconds later, Andy’s condition had also changed to seriously injured.

It meant that they were currently being harmed by the Kobold, which left Lux no choice but to come up with a crucial decision on the spot.

While the Dwarves were arguing on what to do next, Lux cleared his throat and made his presence known.

“I know where Robin is inside the nest,” Lux said.

Immediately everyone stopped talking and looked in his direction.

“Right now, he is seriously injured,” Lux continued his explanation. “If we don’t hurry, we might not be able to arrive in time.”

“Then what are we waiting for?!” Nevreal replied with urgency. “Boy, if Robin is rescued you will be able to gain great merits. So, let’s hurry up and save him.”

However, Lux shook his head as he stared back at Nevreal with a serious expression on his face. “I will help you on this mission on one condition. All of you will swear to the Earth Goddess that you will also save Colette and the others.”

Nevreal narrowed his eyes. He was a veteran and, looking at Lux’s expression, something was telling him that this wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

“Are they not in the same location?” Nevreal asked. This was the only conclusion that he could come to as to why Lux was asking them to make an oath to their Goddess.

Lux nodded. “Colette and my friends are located at the deepest part of the nest. Robin and Andy are in the middle area. However, I will not tell you their location if you don’t make an oath to the Earth Goddess to save my friends.”

“Oi, boy, do you think we are your hired goons or something?” one of the Dwarves asked in an intimidating tone.

“Do you really think we don’t have ways to make you talk?” another Dwarf glared at Lux. “If you refuse to cooperate, I don’t mind skinning you alive.”

Lux remained unfazed as he stared at Nevreal. Although he didn’t know what Robin’s real identity was, he could tell that the person in front of him and the riders of Norria, seemed to place Robin’s safety above all else. This meant that he was a very important person to them!

Using this as leverage, the Half-Elf faced them head on with a devilish smile.

‘Since you’re threatening me, don’t think that I can’t threaten you back,’ Lux thought. ‘You’re not the only one who knows how to play dirty.’

The Half-Elf suffered in both of his lifetimes, so he was already used to pain. Right now, he was the one who had the upper hand, which he could use to his advantage no matter what. If the Riders of Norria refused to help Colette and the others, then he wouldn’t help them either!

“Sure, you want to skin me alive? Go ahead,” Lux replied. “However, I already told you that Robin is seriously injured. Who knows? By the time you finish skinning me properly, he might be taking his journey to the afterlife.”

Lux sneered at the Dwarf whose face had turned beet red from anger. In a battle of wits, the first one to back down was the loser. The Half-Elf had no intention of losing. He had promised Helen that he would save Colette and the others, and he would be damned if he allowed himself to be intimidated by Dwarves who thought they could bully him into submission.

“Oh, no! Robin’s condition is now Fatally Injured. I don’t think he will survive more than five minutes,” Lux said with a serious expression.

Just as he expected, all the Dwarves surrounding him all had grim expressions on their faces. In truth, Lux was lying. Robin’s and Andy’s status told him that they were still seriously injured. He was merely testing them to see how important Robin was to the Dwarves.

Back on Earth, this whole scenario could be described in one word—Blackmail.

Yes. Lux was using blackmail to force the Dwarves to make an oath, so that they wouldn’t abandon his friends after they saved their precious Robin from the Kobolds.

“Boy, you’re lying,” Nevreal said through gritted teeth.

Lux shrugged as he gazed at the Dwarf who was looking at him with a deadly stare. “You’ll know whether I’m lying or not in five minutes. By then, it will be too late for all of you. I don’t know who Robin is, but judging from your expressions, he must be a very important person.”

“Are you all prepared to suffer the consequences if he died in this place? Let me tell you, his life and death does not mean anything to me. Now, choose.”

“Swear that you will save my friends to the best of your abilities. You will also swear that you will not harm us in any way and lead us safely back to Leaf Village. If you fail to abide by this oath, not only will all of your souls be damned by the Earth Goddess, the entire Stronghold of Norria, as well as those in your seven generations will also be damned for eternity!”

“Bastard!” one of the Dwarves growled. He was about to smash Lux’s head with his hammer when the other Dwarves stopped him from taking a single step from his place.

“This is why I hate other races.” another Dwarf spat on the ground. “Bastards, the lot of them.”

Lux remained indifferent to the words and the glares of the Dwarves. However, Helen couldn’t do the same..

She was still young and inexperienced, so the glares of the adults made her little body shudder.

Lux noticed this and moved to stand in front of her, so that she wouldn’t have to see the hateful stares that were being thrown in their direction.

“Aren’t all of you ashamed?” Lux said with disdain. “Bullying a child of your own race just because she wants to save her friends? If you don’t want to go then we will go on our own. You can stay here until tomorrow if you want, but I will assure you that it will be too late by then. Let’s go, Helen.”

Lux held the little girl’s hand and turned to take her away from the Dwarf’s camp. He was serious when he said that he would go alone if he had to. Fortunately, a hand grabbed his arm and held him in place. The Half-Elf breathed a sigh internally because he knew that he had won the gamble he made.

“Fine, I will make an oath,” Nevreal said through gritted teeth.

It was quite obvious that he didn’t like being forced to do something against his will, but the current circumstance left him with no other alternative. Robin was very precious to the Stronghold of Norria, and one wrong move could send them all to the execution grounds if they failed to bring him back safely.

The Half-Elf turned around and stared back at Nevreal whose eyes screamed of murder.

“Make the oath, and let’s start saving people,” Lux replied unfazed by the fact that Nevreal’s gaze was filled with killing intent. “Time waits for no Man, nor Dwarf.”